MY TRIP TO GOA BANGALORE...!

Hi people..I had been wanting to write about my goa-bangalore IV tour since the time i came back but unfortunately the exams had kept me away from writing it. And now, its not that easy to recollect everything coherently and post it here. But glad that one of my friends (also a blogger) has been writing about the tour and here's the link http://mytravelchronicle.blogspot.com/ for those who wish to read our wonderful tour experiences.

The music season...

The long awaited music season- december season as we all call it, is starting to get heated up across chennai with all the sabhas and fine arts organising great concerts for this margazhi maasam. And no doubt i'm thoroughly excited about attending as many concerts as possible this time. It's usually been impossible for me to attend concerts every december as my exams wud always be on the run keeping me away from them, but this time luckily its all over and i've already planned a schedule for when and where i'll be going to listen to those wonderful kutcheris. And for those who expect me to write reviews on the concerts i attend, i'm really sorry that i hav never attempted to write any before, coz i feel i am not good at it. but then, let me try this time in my blog space and hope you all like it. This is wishing all the music lovers "A Happy December" and hope to see you all here discussing music!

TIME PASS

What have you realized recently?
Future is really unpredictable.

Have you given your first kiss away ?
obviously yes..."amma ku dan"

If you were to be stranded on a deserted island, who are the 11 blog buddies you would take?
well, i just know a very few of the bloggers personally and those wud be topping my list.

The place you want to go the most?
Goa ofcourse(can't forget that trip...awesome it was)

If you have one dream to come true, what would it be?
as i hav quoted in many of my posts, to become a great classical singer.

Do you believe in seeing the rainbow after the rain?
i hav seen it a couple of times..

What are you afraid of losing the most now?
my concentration in studies....[:P]

If you win $1 million, what would you do?
definitely a big amount wud be fr charity and the rest fr luxury!

If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
ofcourse yes!

List out 3 good points about the person who tagged you
shalini-a great friend of mine
very sweet as i always say
my blogging guru :P

What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
well, as every other gal expects, LOVE, CARE, a gud UNDERSTANDING of each other and ofcourse a little handsome too!

What type of people do you hate the most?
those who betray...untrustworthy friends

What is the one thing you can’t live without?
"one" is not the right word here, i hav loads of 'em that i cant live without.

If you have faults, would you rather the people around you point out to you or would you rather they keep quiet?
I'd take it from anybody if i'm really wrong. else, they've had it from me...!

Are you a shopaholic or not?
Shopping is one thing I can never say no to..

Find a word to describe the person who tagged
a repetition again-"SWEET"

If you have a chance, which part of your character you would like to change?
i'm really short tempered and i wish i change it soon!

What’s the last shocking thing you’ve seen or heard?
nothing really has shocked me offlate.

Would you rather have love but no money or money but no love?
LOVE BUT NO MONEY..."love is eternal" dont' u think so?


I tag all those of you who read this post. Please drop by a comment when you take up this tag as i would love to read your answers.

My Musical Journey....!

Becoming a famous singer has always been my dream, rather my mum's wish i wud say. and now that i hav given quite a few performances on stage, i am happy that i hav set my path towards my dream. As every singer says, my first guru was none other than my mum. yea, i still remember running around the house, blindly repeating the lines sung by her, in my own childish voice..little did she realise that i wud become the proud disciple of the gr8 living legend "smt.D.K.Pattammal" but then it didnt happen that soon. we shifted from mumbai to chennai, for my parents rightly thought it was always better to bring up a child under the luv and care of elders(especially the grand parents). and there began my real musical journey. i was in my 2nd std wen i attended my first formal music class and my teacher was ms.Ashwathi(disciple of smt.D.K.Pattammal). startin from the basics of carnatic music...SA RE GA MA....my learning process continued successfully for about 6 yrs under her teaching. one fine day, my teacher felt that it was the right time fr me to take up music a bit more seriously, in the sense..to persue it as my future career. and today i am really thankful to her for being so kind and pushing me a step forward in my musical journey. yea! she was the one who introduced me to my present guru , a gr8 celebrity whom i wud'nt hav even imagined of just meeting her in person, if not fr her.
its been a grrrrrrrr8 honour to learn from such a gr8 woman! but i was too young to realise her gr8ness wen i was a beginner. and she used to be such a loving and wonderful teacher, (i am too small to talk about her anyways, so i restrict myself for it wud be highly childish to comment on a legendary person). since then, i hav cum a loooong way in music and today, my parents feel really happy for their right decision at the rite time. the bombay life wud hav been more enjoyable but i wud'nt hav got this opportunity unless i was here...
though its been a real long way, as my guru always quotes "sangeetha saagaram" which means music is a never ending ocean and its a never ending learning process....i hav a long way to achieve atleast a very small part of wat my guru has done... for which i realize the amount of hard work to be done, and i'm sure i will live up to their(amma, appa and my guru) expectations and make my mum's wish cum true, very soon!

HOW DO YOU FEEL....!?!?!?

How do you feel when your dreams come true....or rather, when ur prayers are granted....thats how i am feeling right now! If you had gone through my previous post, you would know what i am talkin about......yessssss...its exacty about my exams getting postponed due to rains.

Its been pouring cats and dogs since the past three days and i'd been forced to study in such a cozy climate (though, i had not been studying actually). i was supposed to write my 4th exam for this sem tomorrow but i had hardly started my preparations. wat else had i been doing all day...nothing..literally nothing except fr changing the news channels looking for flash news about the chennai colleges declaring a holiday. and ofcourse another thing i did was to message or call my friends almost every half an hour to ensure that everyone of them were in the same state as mine..lolz!

I had almost quit studying for the day as i started recieving rumour msgs about the holiday. you may wonder when did i ever start studying to hav quit it...i just meant i had closed my books that had been lying open with the same page the entire day.. and finally the confirmation message had reached me. My class incharge sent a msg saying the exam on 28.11.2008 will be postponed and that its declared a holiday. I immediately called him up to confirm the message and there i was...on cloud 9(the rainy cloud 9-lolz).

I had been praying so badly that my exam must get cancelled somehow. It was a bad prayer actually...wishing that the heavy downpour must keep continuing so that the college management has no choice left but to declare a holiday....inspite of those poor people suffering due to floods and cyclone and all that. But my exam fear over dominated my sympathetic nature this time and i had to make such a bad wish!

But never mind, i believe a lot in my prayers coming true just as it did in this case.....so i sincerely pray the almighty once again today to stop the rains and set everything really fine and wish the needy meet their needs soon!

I'M NOT LIKING IT......!!

Oh my goodness....wats happening to me....boring semester exams...heavy rains...some of my friends hav already started enjoying their vacation...and ultimately no mood to study...i hav never been this way before....not studying at all leaving nearly 3 to 4 units untouched even till one hour before the exam...and on top of it all, the most irritating news channels that keep flashing -" schools and colleges are declared holiday due to heavy rains" but then...nothin of that sort happens in my college. And just the thought that it might be a holiday, leads to nowhere except wasting time. but what ever it is, an exam is going to be as bugging as ever...and how many ever times its going to be postponed, the time is still not going to be enough to complete the syllabus.....but what so ever...i am just not liking it...so just hoping everything wil be fine very soon...yeah, exams getting over is wat i mean...so that i can start enjoying too!

The most awaited MARGAZHI RAAGAM...!!

Carnatic music moves beyond its boundaries...

There are rare times when a classical art form moves past its well etched boundaries to present itself in a new medium with added sparkle and sheen. For Carnatic music this is that moment; the moment when timeless tradition chooses to don the attire of the times. The Kutcherry or the Carnatic Concert has now embraced the magic of cinema. For the first time ever, classical music of South India will beckon music lovers across the world from the silver screen - Margazhi Raagam.

The Artists
Renownwd carbatic musicians Bombay Jayashri and T.M.Krishna are the performing stars of "Margazhi Raga"

"Margazhi Raagam" ---> enjoy carnatic music like never before!!

LAUGH OUT LOUDLY...(lol) !!!!!!!!!!

Killing English ......

Principal to student..." I saw u yesterday rotating near girls hostel pulling cigerette... ? "

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Class teacher once said :" pick up the paper and fall in the dustbin!!!"

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"..DON'T TRY TO TALK IN FRONT OF MY BACK.."

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dont..laugh at the back benches...otherwise teeth and all will be fallen down.

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it was very hot in the afternoon when the teacher entered.. She tried to switch the fan on, but there was some problem. and then she said" why is fan not oning" (ing form of on)

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teacher in a furious mood...write down ur name and father of ur name

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"shhh... quiet... the principal is revolving around college"

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My manager started like this"Hi, I am Mandeep, Married with two kids"

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"I'll illustrate what i have in my mind" said the professor and erased the board

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"will u hang that calender or else i'll HANG MYSELF

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LIBRARIAN SCOLDE ," IF U WILL TALK AGAIN , I WILL KNEEL DOWN OUTSIDE"

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Chemistry HOD comes and tells us..."My aim is to study my son and marry my daughter

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Tomorrow call ur parents especially mother and father

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why are you looking at the monkeys outside when i am in the class?!"

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Lab assistant said this when my friend wrote wrong code.."I understand. You understand. Computer how understand??

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Seing the principal passing by, the teacher told the noisy class.."Keep quiet, the principal has passed away"

Happy Diwali!!!!!!!!

Wish you all a very very very happy and safe DEEPAVALI!

colorful lamps....beautiful dresses....the sounds of crackers...delicious sweets...get-togethers....sharing light moments with friends and families....THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS IS BACK!!!

To All My Blog Readers--->Wishing you and your family a very happy and prosperous DIWALI

ITS VIJAYA DHASAMI TODAY

Its vijayadhasami today and it is believed that what ever you learn today or what ever business you start today is bound to become a great success. Vijayadhasami is specially celebrated in a grand manner by all the artists(mainly by those who are invloved in the dance and musical art forms) as it is on this day, the shishyas go to their guru's place, give the 'guru-dhakshinai' as a token of tribute and thanks giving to them. The guru then blesses his/her student to get all the success in life and teaches a new thing(song or dance or studies) on that day.

At homes, children are asked to read something soon after the pooja believing that they would do well through out their academics.

As instructed by my thatha, i woke up early in the morning, got ready for the pooja and soon after it got over..i was asked to study for a while. i had kept my software engineering book and along with that, my favourite "harry potter series" too. lolz..i just went thru a page from my s/w book and then took out the harry potter 6th part and started reading it.
"the picture above is me and my GURU on vijayadhasami(today)"

Then it was time for me to get ready for music class. i took my shruthi box and a plate full of fruits, beetle leaves(vethalai paaku), etc to giv it to my music teacher. It was just a 10 minutes class today as she had to teach all her other students for vijayadhasami. I gave the guru dhakshinai, seeked her blessings and then she started a new song. Once the class got over, i returned home to sit back and enjoy the special programs in tv.

"happy vijayadhasami to all and wish you attain success in all that you do"

messaging-an addiction

how many messages do you text per day and how many messages fill your inbox in 24 hours...have you ever counted them? i'm sure you will be one among the thousands who have become addicted to texting msgs. and with so many different sms packages provided by the airtel, vodafone, reliance and what not, communication through sms has taken its wildest form specially among the youngsters.

i have a gang of friends messaging me every alternate minute, and the worst part being those msgs will have no meaning, no relevance, nothing and literally nothing. lol..its famously called the "inform all" msgs by our friends circle. the messages wil be of the kind-

• "suda is eating chicken"-inform all



• "viswaa has planned to bunk college today"-inform all



• "deeptha is becoming studious day by day"-infy all

and so many of this kind. it used to be so irritating to recieve msgs like these in the beginning but now, unfortunately or fortunately, i too have become addicted to it. its real fun msging nonsense to a group of friends and getting replies is a even more funny!

and apart from that, the usual gud morning msgs, gud evening and gud nite msgs, forwards, "wat doing" msgs, etc, etc, the list is never ending...and the no. of msgs i send is also never ending..[:P]

i am one of those airtel users with a package having "unlimited" sms and that's really made me an addict to sms-ing. and no wonder it has started bothering my parents too much since the recent past. i know i've been over doing this but as i said, messaging has become an addiction, not only to me but everyone of my age.

well, it has become a serious problem in today's mobile world. i was asked to read articles on this topic(ofcourse, my dad insisted me to) and was shocked to see that there are so many worse cases that you can possibly imagine. "the text messaging syndrome" has hell a lot of consequences that can really shock you. this post is specially to all those who are addicted to msging just as me. just go thru the articles on msg addiction and you will certainly stop or atleast reduce the number of msgs that u send now.

the following passage is from one of the articles i went thru and i felt it might be a start for those who really want to get rid of the "text msging syndrome".

Text messaging syndrome is time consuming and encourages preoccupied conversations which, of course, affects everyone. Emily and David are great friends. As a matter of fact, I'm certain they love each other. However, I have noticed they both experience a common addiction with cell phones.
Numerous teenagers and adults apparently anticipate internal questions such as, "Who has written to me now?" and "How many messages have I received?" Great questions, of course, although I believe it is also beneficial to anticipate everyday moments we often miss. Think about the real beauty of a sunrise, a shower of rain, the fragrance of a flower, a family story passed down to us over time, or perhaps an uninterrupted conversation with your mom.
After an hour’s drive to the airport for my daughter’s return from her spring break to college, I realized the severity of this addiction which I was able to recognize as text messaging syndrome.
She rarely glanced away from her cell phone as she rapidly wrote one message after another. I could not hold my curiosity any longer when I asked, “Do you text message when you’re driving?” Her response, “Yes, but I just use one hand.”
My next question bolted out of my mouth, “Are you able to study, without sending text messages?” “Oh, mom…”
In the event you encounter a teenager or adult with this addiction, I believe it is only fair to share with you the progression of this addiction especially under the best of circumstances.
Evidence of the mild stage of text messaging syndrome is, "It's only 10 cents a message." Although addicting, it sounds harmless with a minimal expense.
Although 300 text messages per month sounds like a lot, her expense was an extra $5.00 per month. Thus, an increasing expense develops into the moderate addiction stage.
Unlimited text messages for $20.00 per month. This option removes the fear of exceeding any limit of text messages, however, this is the severe stage when you realize how much teenagers and adults depend on text messaging.
G. K. Chesterton said, "There is one thing which gives radiance to everything. It is the idea of something around the corner." Hope for the future is important, however, I am not certain Chesterton was referring to anticipation of the next incoming text message which would, of course, need a response.
I’m older so I don’t text message. Perhaps I felt like an outsider. However, I realized the deterioration of verbal communication skills. Her voice startled me, “Mom, I’m listening” she announced as she began the next text message.
Finally, I had to ask her this question, “Will you regret in one month, six months, or a year from now an ordinary moment when you realize you decided to spend time focusing on the next incoming or outgoing text message rather than spend time with your family and loved ones?” Our conversation began again, although we had arrived at the airport.
Everyday moments are often taken for granted. These seemingly insignificant messages distract our attention from the present; moments that only occur once.

THE KALKI DAY

109 years later and he is still in our minds! It was an occasion to remember the contributions of Kalki Krishnamurthy, a freedom fighter, nationalist writer and novelist. The Kalki Krishnamurthy Memorial Awards were distributed to two young artists at the Bharatiya Vidyabhavan Auditorium here on Tuesday on the 109th birth anniversary of Kalki Krishnamurthy The editor of Dinamani, Mr. K. Vaidhyanathan graced the occasion with his presence and presented the awards to singer Gayathri K, and mridangam player, Ganapathy Raman. Comparing his invitation to be present at the occasion, to a Nobel Prize, Mr. Vaidhyanathan was all praises for Kalki and his contributions to the literary world. "Kalki was a great man who commanded respect from all walks of life. His works can be compared to those of Bharathi's with regards to the continuous effort that is put into his writings. In the 19th century when novels were not accepted, every person who read one of Kalki's books always made sure to read all. He gave importance not only to views, but also to news"
Besides the artists, their gurus, Mrs. Suguna Purushottaman and Shri Rangarajapuram Jayaraman were also honoured. Also present during the function was Mr. Kalki Rajendran, son of Kalki. The award ceremony was followed with a performance by the winners Gayathri and Ganapathy Raman, with Hemalatha and Anirudh Adhreya on the violin and kanchira respectively.

Well..i can see you wondering why this piece of information has been put up in my blog. Its just that i was given a wonderful opportunity of initiating this program with my prayer song which i consider very prestigious and a memorable day in my life. The following week, an article about this function had appeared in the tamil weekly-"KALKI" in which a small picture of mine and a few words about my singing were also included, and the pictures that you see are the ones i'm talking about. It was a great evening altogether and looking forward for a lot more opportunities to prove my mettle.

MY TRIP TO SATHANUR

My dad and I had planned to attend the sathanur koil kumbabishekam that was going to be held on the 15th of SEPTEMBER ’08. This is a short travelogue of my trip down south that includes the koil kumbabishekam as the major part of our tour.
It was 8.20 in the late evening when we started from home. I was a little too excited about this trip as it was my first trip with my dad as the only company through out the journey. With my brother jokingly commenting at me and my mom laughing at it, me and my dad started off for a long night drive in our car. Our plan was to pick up my uncle from his place and then head on to vaitheeswaram koil.
We reached pammal exactly at 9pm where my uncle had been awaiting us. Just a five minutes break and all the three of us left the place by 9.05. Mr.murugesan, our driver had accompanied us to the tour but my dad hardly let him drive the car. As car driving is something that he enjoys the most, guess he would really have had a very enjoyable time doing it.
Our first destination was obviously our kula theiva sthalam -vaitheeswaram koil for which we took the dindivanam route. From pammal, we caught the GST road and crossed my college SRM at around 9.50pm. What a colorful night it was, the lightings over tall buildings, highway lightings, and lights beaming out from the Lorries and cars which was a treat to the eyes. It’s very rare that we get to enjoy all such things in our daily routine. And on top of it all, with my dad’s excellent and smooth driving, I almost dozed off to sleep.
It would have been around 11.30pm when my dad woke me up for tea at a small tea shop in a place called “Irayanur” approximately 35kms from pondy. Though it was only a mouthful, it was highly refreshing and we geared up for the highway drive once again. I was listening to music in my i-pod, my uncle having a sound sleep, the driver accompanying my dad in the front and my dad driving-we crossed puthucheri at 12.00am and reached Chidambaram koil at around 1.40am. just as we’d been going, I’d dozed off once again when my dad woke me up saying we’d reached vaitheeswaram koil in less than 5 and a half hours. The time was 2.10 early in the morning. After sending the driver to his hometown-kumbakonam, we lodged our bags and luggage in a small room near the temple and took a nap for a very short while.
At 5.00 am, my dad, uncle and I vacated the room and went into the temple to take the holy dip(snanam) in the koil kulam which is considered auspicious. It is believed that a dip in that holy pond would make you free from all the diseases as the temple is famous for lord Vaitheeswaran. I’d been there many times since childhood but this time, it was a new experience as I already said, it was the only trip without my mom’s company. I was given the responsibility of taking care of my dad, myself and the belongings all myself which was indeed a great task. Once we got ready, we had a very nice dharisanam of the god-vaitheeswaran and the goddess aavudai naayaki and returned to our car. My dad and I went to a near by stall to have our morning break-fast which was a small cup of tea. We usually have a practice of going to the famous “thayyal nayaki” a small hotel where we had our breakfast after every dharisanam when ever we went as a family, but this time it was only this small cup of tea as my uncle had to fast for the "chathurmasiyam viratham".
Thirumanancheri was our next nearest destination which was a sudden inclusion in our trip. The place is famous for lord shiva’s temple(uthvaganaathar well-known as “kalyana suntharanar”). It is believed that a person looking for his/her marriage is blessed to get married soon if he/she visits this temple-kalyana suntharanar koil. From there, we drove to “neruveli” a small village near thirumanancheri. This place is famous for the “utharavaahini kaveri river”. At around 10am, my dad and uncle decided to have another holy dip in this kaveri river. I noticed something strange there- my uncle applying the soil from the banks of the river kaveri on to his body, and to my astonishment, my dad too was following him. When I asked what was that all about, my uncle explained that it was as good as using a soap and that it had a lot of medicinal values. May be it sounded too superstitious to me, but no wonder my dad was amazed by his uncle’s dedication and values of such beliefs. I clicked a few snaps of the place and shot the fast running clear water of the kaveri in my vedio camcorder. All the three of us had our home-made food that we’d packed for our tour. We relaxed there for about an hour and headed off to sathanur.
Just as we started from there, my uncle suggested that we would visit the “vana durgai koil” at kathiramangalam and soon our plans changed all over again. On our way to that temple, we came across another small mariamman koil where kumbabishekam was going on. We were right on time to attend the poornaahuthi which was around 10.40am. And 20 minutes drive from there, we reached the kathiramangalam temple.
I had become pretty exhausted by then, wonder how my dad managed to drive with so much energy. Quite a long drive from there and at 1pm, we reached our final destination “Sathanur”-my dad’s native. I’m sure it would have been a nostalgic experience to him for he kept telling me his old memories and his childhood stories throughout the trip with such an excitement. We went to hari mama’s(my dad's 1st teacher) house where we’d planned to stay for the night. The old lady(hari mama’s wife) was kind enough to welcome us and serve lunch which was around 2 o clock in the noon. After so many hours away from home, I had a “feel good” experience there, a feeling of being “at home” again. Evening at around 6pm, the temple visits began once again. We visited almost all the temples in sathanur ranging from the smallest and the oldest to the biggest and most famous temples. One evening was definitely not enough to admire the nuances of the temples. Mr. and Mrs. Shankar (hari mama’s daughter) had also accompanied us to visit these temples. Wow!! Wat a woman she is! One of the very very few people whom I admire is this lady-Mrs.Raji shankar. It seems she’d been born and brought up in sathanur and no wonder every tom dick and harry knew her so well. She was so friendly, and made me feel comfortable through out my stay in sathanur. We had a sound sleep that night in their house.
Next morning, on the day of kumbabishekam, I woke up at 5am and got dressed up to attend the kumbabishekam. After having breakfast, we went to the temple and the pre-kumbabishekam rituals were going on. My dad was thoroughly enjoying his day, meeting his old friends. I was made to sing a few songs over the mike on stage, another thing that my dad really enjoyed. The temple was getting crowded as time went. Almost the entire village had gathered there to watch this great event. Finally, the kumbabishekam took place in a very grand manner and I had taken few shots in my camera. It was time for lunch, and we all had a great feast in one of the biggest houses in sathanur, and the family was known for their hospitality.
We relaxed for a very short while and I then started packing for my trip back home. It must have been 2pm by the time we started off from the little village. From there, we went to kumbakonam to pick up our driver and headed off to Chennai. Again a long drive and I spent the time listening to music and messaging my friends. Back to Chennai in no time, dropped my uncle at his place and reached home safe. I must agree I missed my mom a real lot, but then altogether it was a wonderful and memorable short tour down south with my dad.

GANAPATHI BAPPA MORIYAA...!!

Lord Ganesh, the patron deity is the God of wisdom. Come August, preparations to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi - the auspicious day when Lord Ganesh was born - begin with great enthusiasm all over the state. The 11-day festival begins with the installation of beautifully sculpted Ganesha idols in homes and mandaps (large tents), colourfully decorated, depicting religious themes or current events. The Ganesh idols are worshipped with families and friends. Many cultural events are organised and people participate in them with keen interest. After ten exciting days comes the time to bid farewell to the beloved God.

While celebrated all over India, Ganesh Chaturthi festivities are most elaborate in states like Maharashtra, Goa (It is the biggest festival for Konkani people all over the world), Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and other areas which were former states of the Maratha Empire. Outside India, it is celebrated in Nepal by the Newars.

In the 21st century, with the world turning fast into a global village, Ganesh Chaturthi is now celebrated all over the world, wherever there is a presence of a Hindu community.

A DAY IN MY ROUTEIN...

As i was drafting one of my other posts, my dad just happened to go through my blog for the first time, and i must say he was pretty impressed with it. Guess he hadn't expected me to do something of this sort, meaning, something different from what i usually do-"orkutting"!
And what surprised me more was that he spent few more minutes reading my other posts and was excitedly appreciating me for this new venture of mine. I felt really elated and good about it. He also suggested that i could write more about myself rather than posting other stuffs which would make it much more interesting. So i thought, why not, start off wid my daily routien.
well, my day begins at 5.30 in the morning...the time when you will find my mum trying hard to keep her temper under control, and dad calling out my name a few hundred times patiently and the famous "me" enjoying the so called "5 mins sleep" until my alarm starts yelling. The clock strikes 6 and my daily monotonous routein starts..time alloted for my music practice is from 6 to 6.20am which i hardly stick on to (giving a lame excuse and postponing it to the evening). finally, i get ready for an enjoyable day in college and reach my bus stop exactly at 7.06am! My journey to college is almost a short tour that requires atleast an hour to reach the college campus provided there's not much of a traffic. Once i enter the college, its fun and only fun , enjoyment and excitement for the rest of the day. I just luv being with friends, chatting, eating together, etc etc etc and all the usual stuffs that happens inside a class! And SRM being an excellent place for enjoyment, i really have a wonderful time around. at 3.30 pm, time to relax ourselves after the tiresome lectures thru out the day, getting together again for a nice chit-chat with friends discussing and gossipping as we board our respective buses for another short tour back home. I reach home at around 5.50pm, my mum waiting with a cup of hot tea and refreshments. The moment i enter the house, i log on to orkut and spend my precious time wasting on chatting-as my mum keeps scolding. [:P] After a long argument with her( mostly regarding my postponed practice or orkutting) i begin my practice for the day. It goes for about an hour say, till 7.30pm and then its dinner time, followed by tv watching, online chatting, and blogging o'course(the recent additions to my routein) that keeps me awake till 12 or 1 or at times even 2am in the night. And one thing that i deliberately missed out to mention in my daily routein is "talking over the phone" which is b'coz i din't know where to insert that. lolz, yeah...that's one thing i am really addicted to apart from orkutting and it goes on and on and on thru out the day what so ever.
And this is how my day ends...! well i don't think this post would hav bored you much, as its always human tendancy to get curious to know about others' day to day activities..:P
i'd like to get your suggestions to know if i can proceed writing something of this kind or continue with stuffs like the previous ones.

THE TIMEX NAIL WATCH

We have seen many different types of futuristic watches with strange shapes and design but none so unique as this. Lets welcome the nail watch that can be worn on the thumb. You may have never seen a watch that can be worn on the thumb but times are going to change, THANKS to TIMEX. Timex in collaboration with Core77, held a global design competition called 2154: the future of time design. So, what we are seeing here is the TX54 which was a runner up there.

Thanks to a translucent body, the design blends seamlessly with the nail while a selection of text color options and a glow feature activating on command make it supremely functional as well. Press the end of your thumbnail, and the watch will light up for you. A perfect blend of appearance, user interface and technology, the nail watch passes most standards of the modern design with flying colors. The watch looks stylish ans chic with a touch of Geeky style as well. the base of the watch is that it is disposable. Though it is quite innovative with a minimalist design, it wont last long on your finger.

No details about the availabilty or the price of this watch has been released by Timex. But since it is tiny and disposable, i don't expect the price to be high.

AAVANI AVITTAM

Come Aavani and the Hindu Brahmin community of India will be busy with preparations for the important festival, Aavani Avittam. Popularly known thus, the festival is called "Upaakarmam" in Sanskrit.

According to Hindu tradition, a boy has to be introduced to the rites of religion by means of the poonool (thread) ceremony or "Upanayanam" when he turns 7. His first Veda classes would start on the auspicious day of Sravana Pournami and continue till the first pournami of Thai Maasam. The lad cannot learn fresh Vedas till the next Sravana Pournami and has to practice all that he has been taught so far. This is known as vedarambam or vedosthsarjanam.
This year Aavani Avittam is falling on August 15 August 16 according to the Vedic distinction.

According to Hindu scriptures, as this could be done only during certain junctures, the upakarma has to be performed every year. Thus, every year on Aavani Avittam, the poonool or sacred thread is changed anew, along with the chanting of mantras. This ceremony can be performed not just by Brahmins but also by the Kshatriya and Vaisya communities.

Aavani Avittam isn't just a ceremony to change the sacred thread (poonool) alone. The rituals of Kaamokaarsheeth Japam, Gaandarishi Tharpanam and Gayathri Japam are very important as well. To perform the Kaamokaarsheeth Japam, one has to chant the mantra "Kaamokaarsheen, Manyu rakaar sheeth", 1,008 times. By chanting this, one begs forgiveness from the Lord by saying "I have succumbed to lust and anger and have slipped from my duties".

The three vedas of Rig, Yajur and Sama and their subsects have many acharyas who follow these Vedas. They are known as Gaandarishis. The ritual that is done to pay obeisance to them is only Gaandarishi tharpanam. The gayathri mantra is chanted 108 times to wash away the sins committed by a person, if any mistakes have been committed during his veda induction.

Living in this fast paced world, many have forgotten the reasons behind these rituals and Aavani Avittam has become just a duty to be carried out. Many of our people seem to forgotten the significance behind these ceremonies. According to the Vedas, the upanayanam is applicable to Kshatriyas and Vaisyas also and not just Brahmins. The word "upanayanam" means "take closer". By teaching a lad the gayathri mantra and putting on him the sacred thread of yagnyopaveedham, one is actually taking him close to Brahman. From that day on, he is deemed fit to learn the vedas and practice vedic rites.

The poonool thread yagnyopaveetham means "brahma soothram". The ritual of upanayanam, actually begins with the gayathri mantra. These two are inseparable. The 3 stages as chanted in the Gayathri
"thatsa vithurvarenyam,
bargo devasya dhee mahi
diyo yonah prachodayath",
denote the three strands of thread of the poonool. Similarly, the gayathri starts with the pranava mantra "Om" and continues as "bhoor bhuva suvaha". This is called "Vyahruthi". To denote these, the poonool has three knots, brahma granthi, vishnu granti and rudra granti.

Brahmacharis (bachelors) are made to wear the poonool thread with three strands. After marriage, the number of strands are increased.

According to the Gayathri, the nine strands of the poonool signify
1. Knowledge about the Aathma
2. Procurement of skills
3. Achieving individual greatness
4. Purity
5. A divine mind
6. Honesty
7. Wisdom
8. Humility

9. Service

Aavani Avittam is also called Rakshaa Bandhan. This falls on the full moon day of the month of Sravan (August-September). It is a popular festival among the Hindus.
On this day, Sachi, the consort of Indra, tied a holy thread or amulet around the wrist of Indra, when he was defeated by the demons. Then Indra, the king of gods, gained victory over the demons by the power of this protection (Rakshaa means "protection") and recovered the lost city of Amaravati.
On this day, in North India, the sisters as a protection from evil during the coming year tie a band around the wrists of brothers. This also renews relationship and heals broken relationships.
Hindus who wear the Holy thread (Yajnopavit) also replace their threads on this auspicious day.

wish you all a happy INDEPENDENCE DAY

!!!! vande maataram !!!!

Rakhi :: The Thread of Love

The chaste bond of love between a brother and a sister is one of the deepest and noblest of human emotions. 'Raksha Bandhan' or 'Rakhi' is a special occasion to celebrate this emotional bonding by tying a holy thread around the wrist. This thread, which pulsates with sisterly love and sublime sentiments, is rightly called the ‘Rakhi’. It means 'a bond of protection', and Raksha Bandhan signifies that the strong must protect the weak from all that’s evil.

The ritual is observed on the full moon day of the Hindu month of Shravan, on which sisters tie the sacred Rakhi string on their brothers' right wrists, and pray for their long life. Rakhis are ideally made of silk with gold and silver threads, beautifully crafted embroidered sequins, and studded with semi precious stones.

I dedicate this card to all my rakhi brothers wid loads of luv and wish you all a very happy raksha bhandhan!

The 61st Independence Day!!!

Abhinav Bindra clinches India's first gold

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Abhinav Bindra won the gold for the Men's 10m Air Rifle final after shooting a total of 700.5, thus becoming the first Indian individual gold medallist ever at the Olympics. He scored 596 (fourth) in the qualifying round and out-scored all other shooters in the finals with a round of 104.5.

This was India's first individual gold medal at the Olympics, and the first gold in 28 years, since the Men's Hockey team won the gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Abhinav Bindra (born September 28, 1983) is an Indian shooting sports person and CEO of Abhinav Futuristics, a PC games peripherals distributor based in Chandigarh. As a shooter, he specialises in the field of Air rifle. On August 11, 2008 he became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games and the first gold medal for India since 1980.

At the age of 15, Abhinav Bindra was the youngest participant at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and two years later he was the youngest shooter at the 2000 Olympic Games. He won six gold medals at various international meets in 2001. In the Air rifle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester, he won Gold in the Pairs event and Silver in the individual event. At the 2004 Olympic Games, he broke the Olympic record but failed to win a medal. He is a recipient of the Arjuna award in 2001 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for the year 2001-2002. Abhinav Bindra's potential talent was first spotted by Lt. Col. J.S. Dhillon. He was Bindra's first coach. Abhinav also holds an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) .

KUSELAN- a review

If you want to see and enjoy a family drama with sentiment, clean comedy and neat portrayals, Kuselan is the only answer among all the recent releases. Kuselan, truly the most awaited movie of the year is released amidst lot of expectation and fanfare today and no doubt the film is surely a different attempt by Superstar Rajinikanth and Vasu.

First we should congratulate Rajini and director P Vasu for the honest remake of the meaningful Malayalam original Katha Parayumbol (of course there are some cliches, but those are tolerable!). The gist of the story is very simple but interesting. Rajini wants to convey the importance of true friendship. 'Matha, Pitha, Guru, Nalla Nanban and finally God' is the new lineup that the Superstar follows in real life too and the message to convey the young generation to follow.

Balu alias Balakrishnan (Pasupathy) is a poor barber, who is living in a tiny village Marayur and struggling to manage his day today life with a beautiful wife (Meena) and three children. He is unable to buy some good basic equipment to develop his barber shop located in the local Market. But he is quite satisfied with what he has despite the antics of his competitor (cum one time assistant!) Vadivelu, who earns lot of money by forcing local people to visit his shop for cutting and shaving.

One day the entire climate of the village totally changes just because of the arrival of Superstar Ashok Kumar (Rajinikanth) for shooting his film. Everyone in the village go to see and take photographs with the Superstar. But heavy police and Z category security force prevent them to have a glimpse of the Superstar.

Meanwhile news spreads around the village that Balu and the Superstar are close childhood friends. After knowing the fact, everyone in the village give new respect to Balu and his family. The local money lender comes forward to help him to develop his saloon with all brand new modern equipments to just get an intro with the Superstar. Everyone in the village wants to cash in on their friendship.

But just because of his ego, Balu does not like to even pay a visit to the guest house where the Superstar is staying. But the entire village, including his own family members force him to visit the Superstar and renew their relationship. How do the old friends meet at last? The question leads to the sensational, never ever seen climax of the film.

For years, many have doubts and questions about Rajinikanth's personal life, Himalayan trips, saint like life style and political interests. In a face to face conversation between Rajini and a critic (Sundar Rajan), P Vasu exposes the other side of the Superstar well. The way Rajinikanth replies to all the queries of Sundar Rajan is excellent and it helps the Superstar himself to satisfy a faction of people, who are always pinpoint him.

No doubt, Rajini is the real star of the entire show. From the second reel itself the film rounds the Superstar. Most of the scenes reflect Rajini's real life incidents and not even exaggerated a bit. Performance wise Rajini easily overtakes all the characters and particularly in the sensational climax everyone is stunned with the outstanding, class performance of Rajinikanth. (I have witnessed that most of the young audiences came out from the show with tear and mostly women audience hail the superior performance of Rajini!)

Pasupathy who comes throughout the movie has done his role well. Meena just repeats the same performance that she has already done in the original. Vadivelu is one of the real winners of the show. Particularly in a scene with the superstar, Vadivelu has played well and showed the exact feelings of a villager while he is happening to see a superstar once in his poor life. Nayantara is just appearing as the co-star of the movie and she has also done her job quite well. Other comedians Santhanam, Livingston, MS Bhaskar, Brammanandam, Chinni Jayanth have also played their part well and help a lot maintain the tempo of the film.

Aravind Krishna gives a new tone to the movie and his style of picturisation is really good. Three songs of GV Prakash Kumar are hummable but the opening song of the Superstar is not up to the level to Rajini's earlier films. The Superstar is just appearing in the film for just 40 minutes. But most of the audiences feel that it is a different but complete Rajini movie.That is the magic of superstar Rajinikanth!

How to prevent your PEN DRIVE from VIRUS

Friends many of your PC/laptop's normally gets virus because of Pen Drives or USB devices (Even PC's who are not connected to network ). Some Virus like Ravmon Virus , Heap41a worm which are not detected by anti virus normally spreads mostly by the Pen Drives . In such a case what can you do to prevent your PC from getting infected with Virus that spreads through USB devices or Pen Drives ?

You can protect your PC by just following the simple steps below . It won't take much time.

• 
  
  Connect your Pen Drive or USB drive to your computer .


• 
  
  Now a dialogue window will popup asking you to choose among the options as shown in figure

• Don't choose any of them , Just simply click Cancel.


• Now go to Start--> Run and type cmd to open the Command Prompt window

• Now go to My Computer and Check the Drive letter of your USB drive or Pen Drive. ( E.g. If it is written Kingston (I:) , then I: will be the drive letter .)


• In the Command Window ( cmd ) , type the drive letter: and Hit Enter .


• Now type dir/w/o/a/p and Hit Enter


• You will get a list of files . In the list , search if anyone of the following do exist :

Autorun.inf

New Folder.exe

Bha.vbs

Iexplore.vbs

Info.exe

New_Folder.exe

Ravmon.exe

Ravmon.exe

• If you find any one of the files above , Run the command attrib -h -r -s -a *.* and Hit Enter.


• Now Delete each File using the following Command del filename ( E.g del autorun.inf ) .


• That's it . Now just scan your USB drive with the anti virus you have to ensure that you made your Pen Drive free of Virus .

INSPIRATION

AS A MAN THINKS.....

You will be what you will be;

Let failure find its false content

In that poor word,"environment,"

But spirit scorns it, and is free.

*****

It masters time,it conquers space;

It cows that boastful trickster, chance,

And bids the tyrant Circumstance

UNcrown, and fill a servant's place.

*****

The human Will, that force unseen,

The offspring of a deathless Soul,

Can hew a way to any goal,

Though walls of granite intervene.

*****

Be not impatient in delay,

But wait as one who understands;

When spirit rises and commands,

The gods are ready to obey.

*****

-James Allen

my first blog :)

First of all, let me say a biiiiiiig "HI" to all my readers and an advance "thanks" for patiently reading thru my 1st blog ever! As my title says, i am really really new to this blogging concept, though, i'll be trying to keep my profile updated with all useful stuffs as much as possible and make it interesting too. Before moving on to the useful topics which i'll be posting in soon, i wud like to write more about myself and my forthcoming blogs. I am completely passionate about music, specially the classical music. i hav been learning carnatic music since the age of 7 and now i am very proud to introduce myself as a disciple of Sangeetha Kalanidhi, Smt.D.K.Pattammal. Apart from music-drawing, painting, and reading books are the rest of my hobbies. i love to watch movies, how ever gud or bad they may be. and the most important thing is i love making friends and staying connected. basically an emotional person, easily moved by sentiments. and a little short tempered too, though i wud get bak to normal in no time. hailing from a very orthodox family, i hav been brought up in a traditional way and i love being a typical "iyer" girl :P ! and b4 my blog gets too boring, i'll make a short note of things that i'll be talking about..

• music and music related blogs will be my first choice
• books and reviews of the novels i read
• movies ofcourse( the most interesting part of my blogging)
• academics-CAT, GMAT, GRE
• placement preparations(i'm sure it'll be very usefull for the 3rd yrs)
• miscillaneous
  
  
  so friends, i luk forward for a gud response and help me improve on my new attempt!