30 days 30 Pictures

Friends, who are in my Facebook friends list might have already experienced it (some called it as torture!). 

I took up a little challenge to myself (no body can challenge me!) to capture & post 30 pictures for 30 days.

OK, when I set a challenge to myselves, I ought to set some rules right. So here are the rules.

1. The picture should have taken within 24 hours while I'm uploading in my Facebook.
2. Minimum one or two takes for a shot. No on-site experimentation.
3. The scene has to be from my daily routine, like my home, office, shops which I visit for my daily needs, streets\roads on my way to office\home\home town, bus which I use for daily routine. So in other words, don't go to a place for the sake of taking picture.
4. Use my own devices (Moblie & digicam), no eravals.
5. No stopping in the middle of the challenge.

So, here are the images. (Click on the image to enlarge it)

Let me know your thought! ( My friends mind voice- Evvalo vetiyava iruku!)

A Brainless Journey!!

There is something which you can do only once in your life, it can be daring adventure or a simple task. I always had this urge to go on a long ride in a bike, not 50.. or 100 Kms, but very long, say 200.. 300.

Many would have gone for long drives, it could be in gear-bikes, but not in an automatic gear scooters!!. I got this TVS Wego a few years back, I was waiting for a good opportunity to surprise my family members. This week, I had a perfect chance for a long ride, 258 Kms, Chennai to Krishnagiri.

Pre-planning

I browsed through the internet to see if anyone had written about their experiences of riding an Active or Wego type bike for a long ride. The best, I could see was from Bangalore to Mysore, which is around 140 Kms. I thought- I can make it. One 15 mins stop for every 60 mins. Stay in 60-70 Kms./hr. Drink plenty of water in the break and make sure to take a leak, so that I won’t get dehydrated. And, make sure I feed the bike with petrol whenever the fuel tank needle touches red. So this was a four pit-stop strategy, Three- 15 mins stop and one 30 mins stop for breakfast.

Get set-go

May 1st, after completing my night-shift, I went home, I wasn’t still sure to take this ride, but then I thought this is something which I can never do later, this is a first\ last chance. No one will ever permit me to do such an idiotic and stupidest act. So I called wife and said, I’m taking the bus, but instead my bike turned toward the Arcot Road to catch the Chennai – Bangalore Highway.

6:00 AM. With already, 150 Rs of petrol in the tank, I just filled 100 Rs petrol in Vadapalani. Arcot Road which is usually busy road was now less crowded. I made swiftly to Porur and to Poonamalle. Just after Poonamalle, when the city road meets the HighWay it took for a while to adjust the heavy vehicle’ movements. After, few mins, I was able to judge their movements. I was moving in 70Kms/hr., occasionally it could touch 80-85, I had to then pull it down to 70 again!.

The ride was comfortable, I got some pain in my knee after 200 Kms, but once I stopped and stretched a bit, it was OK. I went with the planned breaks. 11:30 AM- I was in my home at Krishnagiri, it was a surprise for my family. Yes, I made it. 

There was a function on May 2nd, so I had all day rest. I started back to complete my adventure on May 3rd afternoon. When, I say adventure, this is IT, the return was terrifying for few moments.

Cloud formation!

May 3rd, could be my "May Day" call!

I started at 1:00 PM from Krishnagiri. Having known the nuances of riding in the highway, I was making it easily, 75-80 Kms/hr . I reached Vellore at 3:10 PM. Had my lunch and started to move forward, my next target was to stop at 4:30 PM, possibly near to Kanichipuram bye-pass. But this is when things turned bad. While I was crossing Melvisharam, I saw a smoke kind formation at a distance, this may be few KMs before me. I thought it might be some fire accident. But, it was dusty wind from the ever dry Pallar river. While I was crossing the Pallar bridge before Ranipet, I can feel\see the dust and sand from the river bed throw up in the air like twisters. The wind became so heavy, right before me a hoarding of a hotel was pulled down by the wind, for a while my heart stopped! The heavy wind was pushing my bike off the track, I couldn’t go beyond 40 Kms/hr., and then it started to rain heavily. I had to stop in a tea shop (They didn’t have tea there) for a good 40 – 50 mins. My plan was to enter the city before 6:00 PM, but my return plan was a dis-array due to rain. I was in Poonamalle at 7:00 PM and it took an hour to reach Vadapalani.

250 Kms is an insane act. But to try once there is no harm I guess.

My next plan is to take a bi-cycle ?

Ezutha ezupuku ellam vanda anda appavi bike- White Rabbit.

That One Rupee

Date/Time: April 24th 5:00 AM

Place: Koyambedu Bus Stand

In the quest to change the history of this country (wooow!), I jumped in to the bus, which was meant to my hometown, Krishnagiri. This 5 AM bus is a ghost bus, because usually there will be only 2 or 3 passengers, but now it’s full. I thought to myself, “hmm, very good, people are enthusiastic”.

Out of curiosity, I asked the guy (Let’s name him Modi) who was sitting next to me, “Sir, are you going to cast your vote”.

Modi said, “no thambi, I’m going for my relative’ marriage in Bangalore”.
(My mind voice - Etha nan nambanuma ?)

Me, “Then, you’ll come back and cast your vote ?”.

He said, “If there is time, I’ll do”.

Me, “grrrrr..”

He asked, “so you are going for elections”.

“Yes, yes”, saying that I turned my head towards the window and got immersed into mobile music.

11:00 AM

In home, we (Me, my mother and wife) had a small discussion of whom to vote. I said, I’m on a mission to get the communist back to the main stage of Indian politics, my wife opted for my choice. My mom said she’ll go for NOTA.

On our way to the booth, my old uncle, who is a die-hard MGR fan, gave me a victory signal (Secret code word for ADMK!!). I then cast my vote. Happy, happy, happy!.

9:00 PM

I was getting ready for the return trip. My wife said you are wearing the same shirt which you wore while coming, it’s smelly. I said, “that's OK, the smell will keep others not to sit next to me”.

9:31 PM

I got inside the bus to Chennai, when I got in, I felt the smell of the suppotta pazam. Is it suppotta or sulphata ?. I wonder how these people get liquor on election day!.

Surprise !, the same guy whom I met while coming from Chennai was sitting next to me. Yes, its Modi. I gave him a look, my mind voice “So, you didn't cast the vote”.

Tickets.. tickets.. tickets .. the conductor started to sell tickets. The fare is Rs 151. He was asking 1 Re. change from everyone, some gave 1.00 Re. and some 2.00 Rs. I gave Rs 202 and got 50 back. Modi gave Rs. 502 and he got Rs 350 back.

What happened to that Re. 1. The conductor should have given Rs. 51 to me and Rs. 351 to Modi !!

I had this kind of experiences with conductors during my college days. These guys will pretend as if they forgot. Some will even argue that they gave it when we ask later. I thought not to postpone it. So once the conductor finished issuing the tickets and when he was returning back, I asked for Re. 1 change. He didn't even say a word, he gave it. My mind voice “Good acting sir”.

Modi didn't ask for his Re. 1 even after we got down at CMBT. He just walked away into the crowd. I couldn't identify him, as there were many Modi’s in the crowd.

***The End.***

Oh!! you want moral of this post!- If you want something, you should knock, otherwise naridum, either a bus conductor or the country.

** Image 1- By the this blogger.

** Image 2- This blogger' ancestor.

Being Tamilian

To start with I like to give a short repertoire of my genealogy. There was a letter “D” to my initials, which my mom decided to discard it when I went to school. The “D” means “Desampettai”, which is supposed to be in Andhra Pradesh (I didn't find it online). It is believed that my great grandfather had come from Desampettai to Krishnagiri. 

It is very typical of the places in the border of Tamil Nadu (or any state) to have family ties with the nearby state. The Tamil which is spoken there is distinct as always, because of sharing the border between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. This is the only district ( Krishnagiri ) in Tamil Nadu to share border between two states ( Niligiri- Shares border between Kerala and Karnataka ). The dialects and words used will have origins in Kannada and Telugu. My first language is Kannada. 

Let us come to the subject, we all know who the Dravidians are, loosely presumed to be people living in south of India. Let me ask “Who Tamilian is and what makes one a Tamilian”. ? 

Few questions I have, 

1. People who live (proof of address\ration card) in Tamil Nadu are Tamilians? [Very naïve question] 
2. People who speak Tamil are Tamilians? 
3. People who speak different First Language, but born and live in Tamil Nadu are Tamilians? 
4. People who speak Tamil, but are not in Tamil Nadu now are Tamilians? 
5. People who speak Tamil, live outside India- who got ancestral roots to Tamil Nadu are Tamilians? 

The more I probe into these questions the more it alienates my selves from the secular concept of being Indian.

**To be Continued** PART II READ HERE

My hometown... My movies...

Recollection of movie watching experience in my hometown

The age and maturity influence a lot, being a young kid then cinema hall is always exciting; the projector room was some sort of mystic place.

Most of them say go to the theater to watch films, not in a TV. The following will be my recollection of movie watching experience in my hometown, let’s stick only to the English movies here.

Its Environment and locales

Set in the foots of a huge rocky mountain Syed Basha, which can be a perfect backdrop to mountain-trekking , Krishnagiri is a small town situated from just 90 Kms from the so-called silicon valley of India has to consider itself lucky, but it doesn’t much cash on it. It’s a usual kind of town that is sometimes unique in its own way. 


Having an almost equal number of population,  constituting Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, the town  shares its boundaries to Karnataka and AP, also adding is a good number of Muslim population which adds a cosmopolitan feel in this town. So it’s no wonder that all language movies are realised here and in Hosur. Much importance is given to English, aka Hollywood movies. Now-a-days the English movies are dubbed in Tamil which attracts a wider viewership.

Syed Basha Mountain

The town got theatres’ named Anand, Santhi, K, Sri Murugan, Apsara, Nayantara (known as Tara), and Raja. With abandon ones like Central, Ravi and Royal. Yes there is a hall just named in one letter, “K”, it has to be a distinctive theatre in India or in the world named after a single letter.

First Film

My first taste of an English film came from the movie, The Lion Of The Desert (LOD) by Antony Quinn, I just remember the protagonist name as Omar Mukthar and the final scene when he was hanged with a boy colleting his broken spectacles. The film was screened in my favourite theatre, Central.

The Lion Of The Desert

Its customary in India or at least in Tamil Nadu to find a movie hall named as “Central”, you have one in my hometown, one in Dharmapuri, Coimbatore, Thirunalveli, the list goes on. Coming back to the movie, LOD, it has to be 1985-86. 

Then my English movie experience relied on the home videos, and then came the arrival of the Jackie Chan English-dubbed films from Golden Harvest, which was seen till the end of the credits.

Central Theatres

Abyss

During my 10^th grade, right after finishing my last final exam, my friend Venkatesh called for a movie named Abyss, in the Central, it was a jaw-dropping experience. The film with such a high magnitude in the end of the under-sea-world raising, then later I came to know that the theatre has changed the screen as PANAVISION, means huge screen with big picture and adding a terrific sound which made Abyss a wonderful experience.

This theatre was indeed helped me in seeing many Hollywood blockbusters, Pierce Brosnan James Bond films released simultaneously here in the India Release, which is a common now, but not then. Titanic ran for more than 50 days with packed house and so was the re-run of the Evil Dead which posted a huge banner with red-evil eyes.

English cinema appreciation was there unlike other films the audience was not dull to the Hollywood blockbuster, I remember in the movie Jurassic Park, the scene when the helicopter lands beside the waterfall got a huge applause from the audience.

As I mentioned earlier with the same name as Central there was a movie hall in Dharmapuri, which was special for its sound system, still the DTS or the Dolby hasn’t been installed in these area, this theatre had a sound system called as STEREOSCOPIC sound (if my recollection is correct), the film Matrix was a good experience with its vibrant sound in the action sequences.

Home Video and its developments

This phase was predominantly dominated by Video cassettes. Small Video stores, like Om Shakthi, Greenland in the Colony Road sprang up in the town, which rented movies for Rs. 10, it also depended on the print if it’s a good quality then it was Rs. 20. Most of the yesteryear blockbuster like Jaws, Indiana Jones, Terminator and kid-section like Honey I Shrunk The Kids were circulated well.

Then came the cable guy, who made the cassette renting out of business, regional language movies in weekdays and English movies on the weekends. This phase made a cable TV revolution all over India and my town was not left behind.

 Not so long the satellite TV caught into the race, with BBC and Star TV entered the town, then came India’ most loved English movie channel, Star Movies, with its daily dose of unending films, still one of my favorite channel. 

The Compact Disc and DVD’s still hold its share even now with the grey markets, going to the internet it’s now online streaming and torrents and rapidshare download.

Multiplexes

Call it as nostalgic, but I never get the same familiarity in a multiplex now as I used to get in the theatre in my hometown. The age and maturity influence a lot, being a young kid then cinema hall is always exciting; the projector room was some sort of mystic place. Technologically the multiplex gives a delight in viewing, with its cosy seats and Rs. 90 popcorn.

The advancement of the technology, like VCR, cable, satellite TV, DVD’s, internet download has made easy access to the films, I can download a Korean film “3 Iron” using the net, but I can’t find it in a store. But the real understanding and the magic is in the screen, it makes one enchanted to a surreal effect, that’s why the screen was coated with silver earlier and called as silver screen. A movie is meant to be watched in a theatre. The real essence of a film is felt only when watched in a theatre.

Recent Times

With all these advancements and hurdles, those theatres in Krishnagiri are still surviving, in fact the Raja theatre which used to run second-run films has started screening new releases and Tara which used to screen films for mature minded people! got renovated and started screening new releases, which is also the costliest movie hall in the town.

Kudos to the theatre owners to impose fresh blood in their screening system, like UFO’s. They are becoming more corporatized and even stand-alone ones are not left behind. This is good for the cinema and its audience.