Rahman Sir's performance at Mumbai - LIVE

To all those to whom this is news, Rahman Sir will be performing Live at Mumbai's Andheri Sports Complex on New Year's Eve. Touted to be one of the biggest events around the world, and hosted by Nokia, the concert in Mumbai will also feature Nelly Furtado.

Rahman Sir will be performing his anti-poverty song "Pray for me brother", that is produced by Mr Bala, who earlier produced Vande Mataram. The song is going to be introduced in Mumbai.

The concert will also be teleast live on Star Network.
This will be something to look forward. And for all of us that cant go to Mumbai, thank God for television!!

For more information on this show visit www.nokianewyearseve.com. You will see all that you need to know about this event that is going to take place across five major cities in the World, and also be teleast live!!! Whooooopeeeeee

As of now, I want rustle up some leaves, heave some trees, whoosh through courtyards and raise a lot of dust and giggle to myself about the mess I create. And make more mess around me by giggling.. the more I giggle a lot more movement happens around me. Nature reacts.
And then I want to be still. Go hide. Behind trees. Behind windows. And not do anything. And then somewhere a lady takes her winnow and then the winnow talks to me. And now I have work to do.. I separate the chaff. Let the grains remain. The lady seems to concentrate on the work at hand. Her forehead is crinkled with concentrating. Her mouth pursed. Her cheeks tense. Her hands seem as though they dont really move for all that is being done. A nudge every once in a while. I remove the chaff as long as the lady wants me to.. and then she is done. I easily do anyone's bidding. But I still have a mind of my own. Anyone can make me move. Anyone can agitate me. I am gentle. When I wear my wispy Ballerina dress, I twirl and twirl and all that the world can do is just watch, stunned. Or be carried away by me. Or try and run away. But how many can? *smile* I can go anywhere I want. Do whatever I want to do. Go places where no one else has been. What I know, no one knows. I know everyone's secrets. And I keep them. I am the greatest keeper of secrets. I know of all the wisdom that has been passed on for aeons. I dont change. But yet, I change things around me. I kick up a lot of sand and rearrange dunes and make new ones when I want to. I rise. I plummet. Sometimes of my own free will. And most times not. Especially while plumetting. Once I see a flute, I make music. I can't be understood. I dont know what I am here for. I exist. I am. I..... am AIR. And I am what I am.

My songs in Guru

Its a long awaited post. And its now time to safely say I have sung in the movie.

Rahman Sir has given me another great oppurtunity, one to push myself a little bit more, to sound different and to do a better job than I have been doing so far. After the readers of this blog, and those who might stumble upon this one after googling my name have heard the songs, all credit for the rendition of the two songs, Tere Bina and Mayya Mayya must go to Rahman sir alone.

I was lucky to sing in Mani sir's movie again. And I was also meeting him after a long period, and he was definitely listening to me sing after ages.

A lot of people are already surprised with how I sound in the songs. And as is usual, I have been asked to relate as to what went behind the scenes. Frankly, I dont know how it happens. Before I try anything, especially with singing, I am always worried about taking that extra step. I am constantly worried about embarassing myself. Making mistakes and the like. And the point is when that does happen, I cant sleep. All I remember was Rahman Sir telling me to just let go and sing even if I think I am a fool. And though I was seriosuly inhibited, and will always remain, some light bulb might have gone off in my brain and in that momentary light, I should have forgotten about the "feeling foolish" bit. When I came out of the booth, the apprehensions were back with a bang. I couldnt recognise my voice for one. I would have almost asked who sang? if not for the fact that I was bawling out from another end of the studio for a period of time.
Bottom line: Rahman sir always says that all credit goes to God alone. And with my singing here, all credit goes to him alone.

I also got to meet Gulzar saab, which was a lot of fun.

As life passes by and one note is sung after another, and sometimes, you place the instrument down, and give your fingers a break. There have been several notes. Some in tune, some discordant, some other worldly.... but they have been notes all the same. They all play a part in this strange musical piece. Several times, I wish the discordant notes did not happen. And in the gaps between the notes, in the silence in the sound, and the sound in the silence, several things have unravelled. Its a lot like opening a gift box. You never know what you are gonna get. It could either be an intricately carved piece of wood or a jack-in-the-box. But its a gift nonetheless.

There has been one person who has been there throughout my jack-in-the-box times. All the time. Whining wheezing wailing.. everything has been listened to patiently. Not much ado is made about the beautiful presents. Because the world is anyway going to come to you and oooh and aah about how beautiful it is. All the ado is made there. No more is needed. But when see spots with the pain, and the eyes start watering on their own volition once you come in contact with jack-you-know-who, the one person listens.. and is always there. My mother. I usually am at a loss for words when I want to thank her. But this thank you goes out to you mom. Thanks for being there. And with my singing in general all the time, all hte credit for the good goes to you alone, the terrible and the ones that are mucky they belong to the great me. :)

Just as I think that I should write something.. the tanpura beckons me..

The skies have opened up and decided to flood Chennai or so it seems.
Nice clean wet air .. and the city is all washed.. and of course flooded in most places.
On such days, you stay in, listen to your favorite music. Clean up .. organize things.. pretty good I say. There is a strange satisfaction in cleaning up and keeping things where they are supposed to be. Of course I am the primary messy person in the house. But when I do clean up, its pretty wonderful. I am not going to go all modest here. hehe
Even though a lot of things dont change in the world around you, and people are just the same, some days seem like the 'right' days. Everything is joyful, and pink and happy and pappy. Though I become very depressed on days when there is no sun and my mood is as dull and rained in as the weather outside, today was an exception. Probably my first for a pretty long time.
You just feel like smiling away. My best friend called. Spoke to her.

There were days when I have felt like people around me were either in slow motion so that I observe them better or they are running too fast that I dont understand whats going on. Felt lost. The situations are the same. But today I am looking at things with the what will be, will be kinda attitude. Being in the moment. And smiling at things around and giving a sigh that is bundled with a smile. Some days are like this. It will be good when you have everyday like this. But then this is life.. Some days there are different experience from a heavy heart. And some days there are different experiences from a joyous heart. I have seen that dwelling in some emotions is liberating in a way. Lessons learnt everyday. Lessons learnt everyday about who yo are. What makes you. For when you cant understand yourself, you dont know what you want, recognize who you are bit by bit, you are not living at all. Probably the prime goal from when we take in the first breath ever, with each movement and each step, should be to know to ourselves. Then, probably one day, we will have the answer to why things happen the way they do .. at least I hope I do. There must be a purpose and a reason for everything

Each song on my player has a certain season, if I may say that. Which means that only and only that song will play for a certain amount of time, which can be a lot, until my mom screams foul. Of course that applies to all the people I am around for a fairly prolonged period of time. I remember this time, when I looped 'Udaya Udaya' every day for a week, all the time. So my friend had to actually wonder what went on my head ... well thats what I am .. sometimes I wonder what I am ..
Who is this person who stares back at me? Who am I? What am I here for? Like they show in the movies, sometimes people melee all around me, and I seem to look around watching the drama unfold. And sometimes people all around seem to be frozen in time, and it seems like I go around them ... what would it be like to take a jump into nothingness? what would be like to jump up and float? I dont know whether I ll ever be able to levitate, but I am definitely gonna go sky diving. and para gliding as well. The unknown is always terrifying. Is this why we shy away from knowledge? Is the knowledge that we dont know so many things that terrifying that we shy away from learning? Of accepting that we dont know a lot of things? Of traversing or seeing endless expanse of anything? land, or water. With no horizon in sight? Why is there a joy when we see the sun rise? Is it because each morning we see a certain limit as perceived by us? In all its glory and light and brightness, I wish there is a little wisdom that can permeate my epidermis each day. And go deeper into my being. One of the wishes I have is that to float. Engulfed by light. No ground below, no sky on top. Arms spread. Feet together. And then curling in, turning, and then slowly becoming light itself. And then take form again. And come back. Feet feeling the ground. The big toes first. Landing like the ballet dancer who turns on her toes. Then the tips of other toes, the ball of my feet, and then finally resting my feet completely on the ground with water to just cover my feet. That seems to be like liberation to me. And that light I see as love. That would be bliss.
And the inspiration for this post. 'Dekho Na' from Swades. The music seems like magic to me right now

Water welled up.
It needed release. Was held up way too long. Dammed up too much. A lot of electricity had been generated. A lot of fields had been supplied. Inch by inch, little by little. It was clear that it wouldnt be long before it reached the top. Congestion. The wind stopped moving. It was as if it had stopped completely. Everything was still. Like the calm before the storm. Everything seemed to constrict for the inevitable. The water brimmed. The banks could no longer hold it in. A little just spilled over. And then some more. The flood gates tried to keep them in. To prevent people from knowing that the water was beyond control. The best it could. And then the flood gates had to open. From then on the water had a velocity and a path of its own to flow down. The air kept pace. Blew in gusts. Cuckoos cooed. And they made a melancholy tune. The water kept up a steady course. The wind blew harder. And finally as the water was fanned dry by the wind around and drained by the parched earth, there was peace. There was release. The flood gates closed. Not to open for a long while.
And thus, the journey of a solitary tear which could no longer be held back. A solitary tear that threatened to completely empty the canals and did just that. And with it, it emptied a soul.

I don't know if I have posted a forward on my blog before. But I really couldn't help it this time!! This one was also *TADAAAA* forwarded to me on Orkut.
This is a forwarded mail that I got a few days ago.

I want to thank all my friends and other unknown
people who have
forwarded chain letters to me in 2003, 2004 &
2005 and 2006.

Because of your kindness:

I stopped drinking Coca-Cola after I found out
that it's good only for
removing
toilet stains.

I stopped going to the movies for fear of sitting
on a needle infected
with AIDS

I smell like a wet dog since I stopped using
deodorants because they
cause
cancer.

I also stopped answering the phone for fear that
they may ask me to
dial a
stupid number and then I get a phone bill from
hell with calls to
Uganda ,
Singapore and Tokyo.

I also stopped drinking water outside for fear
that I will get
sick from
the rat shit and urine.

When I go to parties, I don't look at any girl,
no matter how hot she
is, for
fear that she will take me to a hotel, drug me,
then take my kidneys
and leave
me taking a nap in a bathtub full of ice.

I also donated all my savings to the Amy Bruce
account. A sick girl
that was
about to die in the hospital about 7,000 times.
(Poor girl! she's been
7 since
1993...)

My free Nokia phone never arrived and neither did
the free passes for a
paid
vacation to Disneyland.

Made some Hundred wishes before forwarding those
Dalai Lama, Ganesh
Vandana,
Tirupathi Balaji pics etc..

Now most of those "Wishes" are already married
(to someone else)!

You can add your own notes based on your similar
experience and send
them to
your friends.

If ORKUT deletes my account, it doesn't matter
BUT PLEASE DON'T SEND me
"Orkut is
deleting accounts: Due to sudden rush..."
Otherwise I'll delete my
E-Mail
account!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If you do not send this e-mail to at least 913760
people in the next 10
seconds,
a bird will shit on your head today at 6:30 p.m.

###############################################
Give me a break!!
"The World Is Filled With Foolish Ppl And Some
Think They Got Talent
Too !!!"

Wonder Wonder

Life sometimes spins a web of conflicting emotions around you at some point in time. Desolation, desperation, elation and confidence all at the same time. Skein after skein slowly gets spun around you and you hate the stickiness of it all. The discomfort. The desire to break free and just run away. Away from it all. To Someplace things are lighter. Sometimes you wonder whether people around you wear masks all the time. And wonder whether you should wear one too. And how irritating can that be? Going around pretending to be someone you are not. Does someone who seems caring, really that? Does someone who seems polite or gentle or loving or polished really that? Or is it the face that we are supposed to see?
Having said all this, do people ever take someone at face value. For what they seem to be? And what happens to those who are not complicated at all and wish that people take them for who they are and not for contrived and preconceived notions instead?

Why do we have to keep guessing? About what people do or think or might say when we do this, this or that? Is it really that difficult to voice out what you really want from something or someone without endless amounts of time being wasted on what they feel and what they expect from you? Would things be easier then? Or would we all be a set of "I want this and I want that" kinda people? Not that we are not already. We do want. Everything under the sun. All the time.

After wearing masks all our lives are we true to ourselves? Honest to ourselves? Do we know who we are? When we go to sleep did we know the person that we were today or did a stranger stare right back at us when we peeped at some reflective surface? Do we know what we want? Do we listen to the voice that only whispers most of the times from within us?

I wonder, ok thats not new, since thie post so far has a lot that I wonder about. Now I forgot why I started the previous line.
I now wonder anew, that If we were all sure about who we were first, then wouldnt things probably work better around us?

As for me I have begun to detest games people play. Sure that was the title of one of the bestsellers. But really, the amount of literature to understand this person and to understand that, reading body language... all that ticks me off. of course someone might catch me reading those books as well. A person gotta know the books I say... For example someone who scratches his head while talking to you could be lying. What if he has a severe case of dandruff? Someone sits this way, tilts the head that side and keeps their hands this way and uses their eyes in a particular fashion could mean a whole lot of different things - please note - OTHER than what they are telling you with words. How about Being a Simpler Person? Because if these books are best sellers then people obviously spend their time in book stores or on the web looking for the book, and energy as well sometimes researching on who says what about a book and then spending money and buying. Why? To understand other people better. Apparently the need is there. So my thought after this profound (?) post is that high time people stopped being complex, and spinning webs here and there and getting caught in them sometimes and wondering how to get out and rid of the silly goo. And then wondering how to spin a new web.

And living the life of a human being is probably one of the most complex things. With all the resources and brains given to us, we have found new ways of mucking things up rather than making them easy.



Disclaimer: Random thoughts like these need not have a personal relevance.

I once read this quote that goes something like Middle is a time everyone you meet reminds you of someone else. If thats the case, I am well into my middle ages.
Happened to meet one of my classmates today after a couple of years. And I went into the coffee shop. Waited for her to turn up. And then once she came in we caught up on a lot of things. Thats when I noticed a group of girls very politely asking a guy to vacate a 'table' in the coffee house, since they were 5 and he was one. I had a feeling that the girl reminded me of someone. And later she turned to me and said, Hi! we have met. I had met her once, at a friend's wedding and I had spent a lot of my time with her. And as usual, the way time plays its games, we lost touch. And then, well I felt foolish that I couldnt remember her name. I usually have a great episodic memory. But names I dont remember. So then after my friend left, I started talking to her. And then this girl also left, and I got to talking with her friends. I got to know 4 new persons. They said I wouldnt remember their names again. I didnt argue there. But was a great conversation. So we all decided to leave together. And as I was leaving, I saw a junior from school. She came out and did a little bit of a catch-up with her as well.
End of the day, I went in to meet one person, and ended up meeting more than I planned to!
What is the moral of this blog? None.. just random blah

Which Tree Did I fall from???

The Weeping Willow!!!
And I google the Weeping Willow and it looks like it needs a haircut.. Well ... it seems to grow from all directions and in all angles.. like those dogs which have hair falling over their eyes. But Dogs : Cute. Trees - No. Well There has to be some structure. This is the only picture I saw, so people if I am wrong, I hereby bite my tongue... actually my finger!

Wonder if I was hanging from those branches and was swinging from one to another branch and then suddenly decided to fall on the ground and call myself Chinmayi. Well as a kid, I was very sure I wanted to me called Mahalakshmi or Mehr-un-nisa. Dont ask me the connection. My poor mom was given "oh must be an inter religious marriage look" Trust me to put my mom in trouble ... and start early!!
People who asked me my name, were told "Mera Naam Mahalakshmi hai... nahi tho mehr-un-nisa rakh lo.. .koi baat nahi". So from when I was a kid, I gave people choices to call me whatever they wanted they call me. Now what inference is that? I dont know. That line has absolutely no meaning. That is the giving people the choice to call me whatever they wanted. Like when did people start waiting for choices.. ?? Ok I am soooo running out of humour now.

And I am musically Inclined.. Bingo. Very good tree to fall from Chins.. way to go :)
And capricious? Dont know.. gotta research that.. and the restless.. yes. I fidget a lot. And I have the tendency to stride or storm out of places usually. Walk like ....like .. well Meg Ryan in "You have got mail" in the final scene.. And how do I remember that movie. I just saw bits of it.. ok not as delicate as Meg Ryan. I am far from that.

Now for some gen info. The weeping willow is majestic, is a deciduous tree and is planted for ornamental purposes as well.

Likes to be stress free, loves family life, full of hopes and dreams, attractive, very empathetic, loves anything beautiful, musically inclined, loves to travel to exotic places, restless, capricious, honest, can be influenced but is not easy to live with when pressured, sometimes demanding, good intuition, suffers in love until they find that one loyal, steadfast partner; loves to make others laugh.


Now "Suffers in love!!!" AWWWMYGAWDDDDDD thats the last thing I want..
How many men to go before I find 'DA ONE'?? God from Heavens above, or if you are standing next to me and reading this blog, please date the sad men yourself, finish my karma yourself, and let me meet Super Guy!
Not easy to live with when pressured. AGREE and Bow down. Ask my mother. Have almost chewed her head off when some translator didnt submit the work. Blah blah - blahablahahahaha I used to go. Sorry make that GROWL GROWL SNARL GROWL.

And it is raining outside. And I dont like it. I love the rains. But I practically hate the dull looking weather. (the hate comes from the bottom of my being... with so much depth that you cant imagine!) I need to have light. Sunshine. Star shine. Brightness. It will be good if it can be sun shine and rain together... Right now its dull, depressive and a dull shade of grayish blue. GAWWWWWWD GIVE ME LIGHT!!!!!!! SUNLIGHT

FOR CHRIST'S SAKE

For Pete's sake.. and most importantly, for my sake. Just because I hold a Masters degree in Psychology and might possibly do my doctorate, it DEFINITELY doesnt mean I can read minds. NO NO NO. I cannot! And I can't tell the future either.
Standard koshteen:"So what do you study Chinmayi?"
Standard reply:"Masters in Psychology"
Pasteurized reply: "OH MY GAWD. Then I must be careful with you"
Distilled reply with a polite smile, but hell I know whats coming: "Pray tell me why?"
"OH NO YOU CAN READ MY MIND!!!" And then a 'smart' grin. chuckle chuckle.
God Bless asker's soul that he cant read MY mind $#$%#$%#$^#^$^#$^@
And I cant read palms. I didnt study Palmistry. I have Cheiro's Book on Palmistry, I have read that. BUT I Still cant read palms. I study Psychology.
Next koshteen. "Can you guess what I am going to do next? Can you guess what sort of a person I am from what I talking to you?" Well. NO.
5 Years of studying the subject at Uni and I am stunned when people who I think have their gray wirings in their brains intact ask me this. Oh No.. oh NYyyoo..
Another Koshteen "Teach me how to read minds"
Frankly, I am sometime scared to look at what goes through my own mind. And what goes through someone's mind doesnt necessarily mean that they will act on it. Thats why probably 'fleeting thoughts' happened. All they do is just run through the mind and disappear. Thank GOD!
"Can you change my behaviour?" Pray, why would I do that? Why should I? Do you have such a huge behavioural disorder that you think needs changing? But yeah, I do wish I can change this pattern of asking me whether I can change your behaviour. You are grounded. Go face the wall.
"Can you raise my hand?" Now Telekinesis and Psychology are different matters.
And as for reading minds: Psychology doesnt admit the existence of a mind. Mind has been substituted by mental processes or nodes.
And you cant pin point the mind in the Human anatomy.
Does Psychology help your music? Seriously, no sarcasm, I dont know why I should 'apply' the theories of Psychology here. We were not taught, or rather the subjects I had didnt deal with how I should sing in front of 10,000 people or how a popular person should behave. Of course we read Narcissus, and megalomaniacs. But thats a different story. There is a relatively new branch called Music Psychology coming up in the West. But thats it. And Music has been used in therapy as well. But studying psychology hasnt helped me as a performer. My knees are still jelly when I am on stage, only, I am the only one who knows. Not even mom can make out.
And one more huge problem.. Even a small suggestion to someone, and pat comes "Dont shrink me"
Holy molly! I need to see a shrink!!!!

PostScript: This Post has nothing to do with my other other-worldly outpourings. Even though I have used the word 'mind' a zillion times in my Blog, this post has nothing to do with that. Me has several Personas. I have a Multiple Persona Syndrome. FOOLSSHTOPP.

What happens if....

You forget your Yahoo password and apparently none of the data that you enter about your birthday or anything seem to match?

Does that mean you ll never get to access the account or what????

New Releases

In Kedi and Veyil
Veyil has a very young Music Director in G V Prakash. You would have heard his voice as the kid who says "Chikku buku chikku buku raileyyyyy"
You can listen to this song in my audio blog
Also, I am the voice behind Bhoomika in the movie Sillunu Oru Kadhal.
And to hear my voice, you gotta watch the movie. Comments appreciated :)

After midnight. Cant see the stars. No matter how hard I try mentally dusting the clouds away for a little wink of a star.
I smell rain. I see the St Thomas mount in the horizon of my vision. And a lone plane takes off. Starting off to take the journey into rain filled clouds, to pierce them first. To get bathed in the freshest water ever made, first. Its an ethereal feeling to fly past rain clouds. I have wondered what it would be like to be outside rather inside the aircraft.
Thunder booms. Sounds as if its announcing to the world to get ready for a bath. "Come on get yourselves a shower!!.." And then Lights.. The camera in my eye rolls. And then its action. The air is washed first and then everything around slowly takes in the shower. The breeze moves the branches. Like a mother bathing a kid. All that is of nature seems alive. Awake. Fresh. Only the lifeless edifices stand still. Placidly taking in the rain. For it to find its own way down. I think I see colours in the sky.. Several riotous hues. Floating about.. Everything vanishes. All I can see is the sky. The clouds move away by themselves, like curtains parting in no particular fashion. Actually like cotton candy dissolving in the mouth. Not knowing how it went to nothing. To leave a glorious dark shade of blue. One star after another winks at me. Like its smiling at me. Like its beckoning me to see something beyond. I am filled with wonder perhaps. Curiosity perhaps. The colours still dance about me.. I take a dive into nothingness. And its wonderful. Sometimes I am glad there is darkness. Of pitch black. Of your adjusting to nothing in the darkness. How else do you know the splendour of a single beam of light piercing in. Like a beam sent from the heavens above. Making it seem as if there is no end to that beam and no beginning. There is nothing more wonderful than the night sky. If not for the darkness, how does one understand the beauty there? Sometimes to appreciate the stars, you got to appreciate the darkness that surround them. To perceive the twinkle. Several times looking at the sky gives me a feeling of elation. Of something being caught in the base of the throat and not dislodging. An emotion nonpareil. At times like this you feel like you are experiencing what love is. And when it overcomes you and manifests into a drop of tear that rolls down the corner of your eye, meandering down to your jaw bone becoming nothing.. You feel bliss somewhere.
Sometimes you wonder why cant everyone be One. But I got the answer some days back. To experience the oneness you need to separate. Go through the pangs of separation to understand what joy it is to be one with everything else in the world. In a way, to feel the pangs of separation is a joy in itself.

Trouble with Apple's New Battery as well

I got a battery replacement from Apple, as a part of its drive, recently.

And now, when I disconnect the power, when I know that the battery is fully charged, the system also switches off. I immediately hyperventilated, didnt know what to do. And then I plug in the power, the system works fine. I pull the plug, system switches off again. And then I am wondering whats going on, the battery icon says "no batteries available" How the dickens does it say something like that?











So I bring in the old battery which thankfully I haven't shipped back yet, and it works just fine. With or without the power.

Now what do I do? And who will possibly have an answer to this one??

The Mac OS X and the NOKIA 9500 GPRS

From the time I paired the my nokia 9500 and the mac, I havent been able to connect to the internet, via GPRS, and of course via bluetooth modem on the phone.
The support people with AirTel aer pretty much clueless. They dont know how to troubleshoot for a Mac.

I am just hoping that somewhere, someone has done something like this, and can help me!!!

Much appreciated :)

A lot of my posts spark off on something pretty insignificant. Yesterday, while at Galatta.com office, before the chat, I was asked to fill out a questionnaire. Something that would have taken ages for me to fill out if I had attempted them. Other than the basics, about name, education, family, first song, movie and the da-da-da-da-da-da, there were questions to which there are seemingly no answers. Whats is life? What is life? Romantic evening? And some three or four other questions. And I rounded all these off, and gave a blank.
But the omnipotent question which is probably why the earth keeps spinning on its axis, and why planets get added and chucked out from the solar system is probably this.. What is love? I tell you, that one question is a mega Multi Zillion Dollar Industry. Movies, ads, books, restaurants everything run on that. Ok, lets be more specific. Scoping men and women out.
I bet my, um.... ok I am not a gambler, this post, that most dinners or lunches have conversations revolving around this question.
Someone wants to figure someone out. Such conversations are passed on coffee, and food that gets pushed about the plate.
Does he love me? Does she love me? Who knows mate? But this must be one of the most fun parts of a relationship that may go either downhill or uphill or might not start up at all. And how someone never knows the answers for themselves but do for everyone else.
People meet the wrong people all the time. And then there is a why the hell does this have to happen to me?
I came upon this book which talked about all that a guy would do when he 'is into you'. Well one, he will call. Five times a day. Or something like that. Now that would seriously infringe upon my life. Give me a break!! Five times a day??
"He will do what he said he will do unless there is a personal emergency". Like he says he will call you at something-o-clock, he should. Else he doesnt like you that much. Apparently in spite of demanding work schedules. Or a boss breathing down the neck. And several such things. As I went through the book, I saw that I couldnt agree with so many things in there. Give me science anyday, saying that a woman or a man can/cannot do this, this and that-this because of some nerve running somewhere, or some nerve that doesnt, easier to understand. And its amazing how so many magazines make money with this topic. And the 'try to understand him/her' phase is seriously tough and time consuming and frustrating.
Look for clues people say. What clues? And then dont read too much into that. Be interested but be coy. Be busy but be available. Bleeeaarrgh.. Why cant things be simpler. One answer thats given. Men chase. And women like to be hunted. So when did we go back to the Stone Age? Hunters and Gatherers? So many centuries of evolution we talk about and we are talking primitive again.
We all keep guessing. He said that. She did this. Damn he is rotten. Damn she is from hell. Why cant we be adults and sit across the table and finish it off and not put in so much energy into thinking unnecessarily? People dont be honest with someone else, because they dont want to put themselves in line. Tough thing there.

At the end of the day. There is only one thing. Your life is your own. Your situations are your own. And when you choose to like someone you need to love yourself first. Understand yourself first. Know what you want. From yourself, from the other person and as a twosome. Sure things need not happen all the time. Looking for someone to complete you is probably not the answer. Everyone who loves Tom Cruise gushing that line, please forgive me. You need to be complete. You cant be incomplete and keep looking for someone to fill up that space. You need to be at peace with yourself. If you are expecting him/her to do something, dont keep it in and expect the thought to be conveyed telepathically. Speak it out and if the other person is comfortable, great. After a point in time, people will be pretty much tuned into one another to understand the other pretty well. Even then, somethings need to be said loud and clear. Dont confuse yourself and the other person. A relationship is not just hard work, its complete menial labour, and while you are at it, get in the gadgets and make things easier. You have the words, speak out.
And having said all that, when a man says he is not monogamous, and he is not ready for commitment/marriage (usually means not with you)yeah, pretty much believe him, and when a woman says she is looking for a man with financial security, yeah, she might not settle for anything less. AND absolutely no one is worth endless heartache, or crying yourself to sleep. NO ONE. Period.

The leaves rustle, The boughs sway and I step out. On white sand. Each step, I sink a bit, and rise. Push myself up from a miniscule depth. My toes press down, my heels raise. To take another step, to sink a bit, and rise again, and take yet another.
All around me, everything is still. I look about, wondering whether there might be something out there, that might rise from the dark and probably show me the path. Towards light. But nothing yet. My feet trudge along. The wind hums a tune in my ear. The boughs tap up a rhythm. Ever so lightly. The air is fresh.
I dont know how long I have walked. I dont feel tired. I seek. I am searching for that elusive thing. I dont know what I am looking for. But I continue the journey. My eyes have grown accustomed to the darkness now. I am used to it. I see darkness. And the stillness and the sound, the movements and the calm, I am used to it now.
The rhythm and the music make their presence felt. My feet walk to the rhythm first. And then they move. My hands follow suit. My hands sometimes slice through the air, my fingers caress it, my heels plod the earth and the sand runs through my toes. I hear cymbals, I heard drums, I hear strings and I hear voices. I am performing for whatever is around me. And then the music fades out. My breathing alters, and slowly pulses back to normalcy. My skin tingles. My eyes feel brighter. My ears sharper. And then from somewhere, I see a beam of light. It seems to have no beginning. And I dont know where its going to end. The beams moves towards me. The area around is bathed in light. And from nowhere, a being rises, takes my hand, and takes me toward the light. In that clasp I feel safe. The movement is neither hurried nor languid. And then I am surrounded by the light. And then bathed in it. I feel it enter my head, pierce through my being, and go through my feet, into the ground. I rise. I no longer know where I begin and where I end. I no longer know what is 'I'. There is no feeling. But a sense of bliss. Galaxies move around, stars smile, there are several moons and several suns. I am new. My feet feels the sand again. The darkness gives way as light pierces through, every cell in the air. The sun on earth rises. Orange and glorious. Birds come from nowhere, fly across a brilliant blue sky. My arms are outstretched to receive. To be. Or not be. And I wait.........

My ISP finally allows me to see the blogs.
At long long last.
I shall write a post with the pictures of the brains behind Airtel Super Singer, the ones with whom I worked with personally.
Coming soon!!

LAST EPISODE OF AIRTEL SUPER SINGER

Will be aired on the 11th and 12th August which is the following Friday and Saturday.
Tomorrow is the blooper episode..
Rollicking fun!!
Whoever is interested, please watch it!

Though I can post my blogs, I can't reply to comments, since I am still unable to open blogs that end in .blogspot.com. I dont know why my ISP hasnt lifted the block yet and hope it happens soon.

I can see the comments since comment moderation is enabled on this site. Thanks Soundar. I have followed up on that. And my replacement should arrive soon. Thanks a ton for your thoughtfulness.

AND THE WINNERS ARE

Nikhil Mathew who gets to sing for Mr Harris Jeyaraj
Anitha: Viewer's choice award with more than 150,000 votes
Soumya Mahadevan: Jury's choice from the semi finalists!!

DONT MISS TO WATCH THE CELEBRATIONS ON THE 4TH AND 5TH AUGUST 8:00 - 9:00 PM IST

IT WILL DEFINITELY BE AN EYEFUL!

Though I cant see this post myself, which has been the state with a lot of blogs I regularly read, the recent ban on blogging and the lift thereafter, my ISP has still not made any amends on that, I am still wondering whether this gets posted.

The results to Super Singer will be announced on the 4th of August. The journey finally comes to an end. There might be a couple of more episodes after the telecast of the results.

More than anything else, there is an episode on all the behind the scenes action which I wont miss for the world! Bloopers by me, the judges, participants, the crew.

I intend to put up pictures of the crew I worked with ... soon :) Havent had the time to take the pictures.

Otherwise I have been pretty much bored. I want to do something new.. And work for 20 hours. It will be good to be in that state. In the quest to know what I am made of, I have come to realize that I cant be idle. And that too much driving around the city tires me out. And I hate shopping. With hate in capital H, capital A, capital T and capital E, bold and italicized for further enhancement. Its one of the most boring, non-brainer work to do.. Shopping for the costumes and accessories for the show, whatever little I did has made me come to that decision. There should be more like me in the city. And its such a bloody waste of time and energy. There should be a way of doing that faster. In about an hour or so. Which should include the travel and everything.

Happened to watch POC 2.. didnt like it that much.. was pretty bored. Hope the sequel does better.

Required:

Does anyone you know live in Maldives, or someone who knows someone living in Maldives?
I am looking for a translator who can translate from the Maldivian Dialect Divehi into English.
Please leave a comment if you do or mail me at sunaadin@yahoo.com.
Will be highly thankful

Duniya *GOAL* Hai ;)

I HAD to blog on this separately. Post Superman, B and I went to The Park to eat something. And as soon as we entered, the football fever was completely in the air. Though we were sitting slightly away from the TV, we decided to move closer to a screen and watch what was happening. And Brazil lost. Generally we both were getting a hang of the game, but each time a goal was not made, especially by Brazil, there were a lot of beeped out words. People lighted up, their cigarettes of course, made bets. Da da-da da-da. And minutes before the match was over and it was proclaimed that France won, there were so many who got up and exited, swearing, almost breaking tables. Wow! This was the first ever football match I watched completely, and I liked what I saw. But frankly, after having heard so much about Brazil and their star players, esp Ronaldo, for me it was no show.
And am gonna follow the world cup. Apparently this will be the first All European final four since 1982. As of now I am supporting Germany. Why? Because I know the language ... (*clapping my hands and silly giggle*)

Move Over Bird Man - Superman is my new crush!

So B and I went to watch Superman returns. And WOW. God has been creative at times. That guy actually looks too perfect to be real. Profile is great. Every god damn angle is great looking. To the extent that I wonder how much of it is air-brushed. I dunno if thats possible on film. But escoooos my limited knowledge.
Bird Man had been crush number ----- whatever, only to be replaced by Superman. Especially the scene were Lois and Superman, well ahem, go fly, that was extreeeemely romantic.. and there we were, B and I, mooning away about Superman. Technically I also liked James Marsden who was also Fire-Eyes as I named him, and Jean's fiance in X Men. And he was also in this movie, as Lois's fiance. Paavam ... he seems to remain as the fiance only most of the time!

So lo and behold. I have my first ever crush on a Superhuman actor! Supermaaaaaaaaaan

Of school.....

I happened to go through Orkut properly the past couple of days and gave a good look to The Hindu School community therein. There were several posts, some asking which is the best place on campus to have lunch, the last benchers, some famous 'quotes' by teachers, our principal then, Mr V Venkatachalam, about a dear teacher leaving school.

And then it was whooooosh and I was pulled back in time. To a time when we would also aimlessly wander about the corridors, lunching, our throwball games, arguing with the PT sir as to which was foul and which was not, bunking maths class to go to practise for competitions, culturals, our small Ganesha temple, where every friday a section could take the turn in decorating it. There was also this time where our super princi had this idea of Education through Experience, I guess. Have forgotten the name. We all went to other cities, and had some sort of an exchang program with the children of a chosen school in that city. My section went to Hyderabad, and the 11th standard went to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. All of us heard several stories from the time they set sail.

Our teachers were a wonderful lot. There was this classmate, Aditi, who used to be a great story teller. So if it so happens that English class happens in the last hour, she will come up and tell a ghost story. She was brilliant. And then if a teacher came to know that some guys in class were good imitating, then they ll be called up to 'perform'.

Most mornings, we would be standing out in the sun for assembly. I used to be in the shade, while others baked and some feeble ones fainted thanks to the sun. I ll be standing near the stage, to lead the school prayer. At that time I remember that I wanted to know how it would be to faint. I have never fainted. How dramatic I thought. To faint and have the whole school fussing over you and you'd probably be sent home, escorted, in a car. If you came to school by cycle, you ll probably have to walk back to school the next day which would be torture. But I also remember I didnt like being home on school days. Then particularly on very rainy days, I ll make sure to go to school, cos there'll be some enthu types like me who will also end up going. The class wil prolly have 10-15 people. And we will all have fun, teachers included.

We also had the teachers playing throwball, and the students were the training committee. When I first picked it up in 6th std., I was a puny thing, then I thought I d probably never have the power to break a few fingers. And there was this time, where every puny throw of mine was not taken by the opponent team, who were the 'A' team. I suddenly became wanted, and in that After-4 pm game, we ended up being the winners.

I had a great time with all the teachers including our maths teachers, though the subject was a horror, and it continued to be so until I relinquished it in 11th std.

Also one of the prime past-times a lot of students indulged in, was who had a crush on who, who got a love letter from who, who said yes and who said no and why. Thinking back, juvenile as it was, those made some great memories.

Culturals. Hep time. Cut class for practise, bunk school for culturals, check out guys/girls from other schools, eat out, especially wait and check out the fashion show even though we had nothing to do with it, come back to school with prizes and get them to be given to us again by the principal at the next assembly. Sometimes it would so happen that people from my group wuold go up some 7 times to receive prizes from various events. And if prizes from two or three events get clubbed, at the end of the assembly we will be subjected to roaring applause, but back in class, some would actually say why cant you guys give us a break and stop winning? So that we can come back to class and not roast in the sun? Of course other days if the first hour was a boring one, we'd be thanked since half of it would be eaten up, thanks to roll call and what not. Sometimes one fridays students would have to 'serve time' as PROs at the library, or the office. We used to battle it out for the library because post lunch and until the last bell, we could be there and read as much as we wanted. Office was slightly boring, all you had to do was sit outside the school office, probably read and take circulars to classes. And the boys used that time to quietly sight-adichufy or so I heard. And so did the girls :D

Those were the times. Happy go lucky and the biggest bother was to be prepared for next day's classes and battle with one's own tough subjects. Friends and teachers and classes and project work, and the occasional trip out. And there I was happily remembering those days when DING DONG BLLLAAAAM, mail from a classmate, saying she is getting married. When I spoke to friends that day about her getting married, I also came to know that two others had also married. And last year.

Suddenly you realize you are all grown up, have to get married, raise a family, get a better job and a still better job and yet another better job. Time just flies under your feet and you realize there is very less time. And so much to do. As we grow, spread our wings and fly to distant lands, we stop by on a branch somewhere to catch our breath, rest our wings, and look back on the journey we have made, the skies we have seen, the oceans we have flown over. To the time when we had smaller wings but cleaner hearts. To the time when we could perch only on lower branches but had higher ideals, flew shorter distances but had a cleaner vision. We have forgotten to take anything at face value and read too much into everything, what did he mean when he said that, why is this person ignoring me, why did she do this and why did he do that, how do I get this done even though I know its gonna ruin someone else's life?

Sometimes, when a child holds your hand, or a child runs to you and holds your leg, or when it rests its little head on your shoulder, the innocence of it all, the love of it all just touches you. And when you clasp the child's hand, or hold its head so that it doesnt roll off your shoulder, you wish that you could go back to that time. Where nothing else matters other than love. And you reciprocate only to that language. When we are clean slates, and when hearts are pure as the driven snow.

A solitary tear rolled of the bird's eye, but the journey of several thousand miles has but begun. And there will come a time when it will protect fledglings under its strong wings, and impart to them, the need for strength for weathering storms, the need for hope, and the need to love. The bird looked toward that horizon again, later it will look at it with different eyes, but now it was time. It flapped its wings and resumed its journey..... its journey towards the sun, its journey towards brilliance, its journey toward light.

Mom, B and I went to see Krrish tonight. Booked tickets online once again, I am liking this. And when the guy came with pop corn in the interval, he says Singer Chinmayi?? Your autograph please? So signed something in the darkness across some pink slip which I know is a receipt for whatever we bought and the goods came to the right person.

Hrithik Roshan is one great guy. No I dont have a crush on him, but I totally admire his work. And his hard work just shines through in all that he has done. Its brilliant. His dancing talents are unmatchable. Even if he is executing some step wherein he flies up in the air and lands back, each micro movement is in beat, when he takes off, when he is in air, and when he lands back and dissolves into the next step. Great structure. And excellent form. I dont know if I have technically become his fan, but I definitely admire is will power and his gut. Great going Hrithik, GO!!! The movie as a whole was very Bollywood. I was stunned with the way the trailer was cut, I waiting for this movie with bated breath, but when I did leave my breath out it was not a gasp of 'wow' more like a 'huh'? Well I expected too much. But I must say that its a worthy. Mom loved the movie. And I think I messed up with the order. You shouldnt see an Indian Super hero movie with special effects after X Men 3

And as for my swimming today, the lesser said, the better.

New Skill Of the Month

I am learning to swim. I started yesterday. And my friend from Bombay.. she has come down. I have met her in person only now, but we have known each other for several years. Maybe about 8. We made countless plans to meet up in each others cities but it just never happened. Even when I went to Bombay a couple of times, something always went wrong.
So we did finally meet. And I have found a friend to be with for sometime. Since my best friend is not in the country. Its been about 5 years or more now. Mom, B and I went to X Men 3 together. And I thought Bird Man is cool which mom and B immediately booed down. But it was great fun.
Yesterday, I took my dip in the pool. One faltering step after another through the little red ladder, into the pool. Its not like I haven't been in a pool before. I tried to learn to swim in 8th std., in the IIT pool, it didnt work out.
And finally just happened that B said why not swim now? And she said she would teach me. I jumped at the idea, from land into water.
So there I was. Getting used to having a reasonable expanse of make-believe blue water all round me with a nice mosaic flooring. Within five minutes of being in the pool, B taught me how to float. And I stared floating to and fro, from one shallow side to another. Kick myself off from the wall of the fool so that I am 'propelled' and some how land on the other side thanks to everyone else swimming, even though I was going across and everyone else was going lengthwise. General paddling in the pool, and I was outta the water. When I stepped out it was as if the pool was saying dont go, dont go, and it was pulling me back with watery hands, feet, whatever. Its an effort to get outta the pool actually. Back to the changing room, the scene was horror. Towels were lying everywhere. Come on, do people dont even know that you are not supposed to drop your wet towel on the floor, and make into a mop??? I detest this behaviour of people misusing public property. I picked up the towels, and put hung them on the nearest door. Sheesh. I only hope they used disinfectant. Done with showering, was humming and then came to B's room. And stayed there overnight. Ate some food. We ordered some gravy which was supposed to be 'so hot that it will set us on fire' and when it did reach us, it wasnt even hot enough like the wick of the cracker, which refused to go off. So there we were, with make believe Mughlai food and then we ordered ice cream. B was categorical that her multi falvoured ice cream should not have pista ice cream. And when my Ice cream arrived which was 'fond remembrance' it was actually like cold soup. Ice cold soup of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. And it was served in some kinda bowl which looked like a finger bowl. B's ice cream made sure it came with Pista, in some kinda Lassi Glass, and the ice cream was melting all around the rim, and over. There is more to this cold story. Lassi glass with ice cream has big chunks of apple and pineapple. And the bottom of the glass has jam. Not Jelly. JAM. So this one was called English Ecstasy. Far from English and far from Ecstatic. So after this misadventure, I started reading on P G Wodehouse, Laughing Gas. And drifted off to sleep.

Day 2.
Back to swimming pool. Took my own towel. Saw the same people. Today was happier. Steps were better. I got swimming goggles. And I liked the feeling of seeing underwater. So there I was trying to bob my head up so I could breathe and ended up sinking each time. There was another lady who was telling me how to do it, and she said just keep floating for two more days and get used to the water. Me was like ok. And then by 8:40 the pool was empty except for us. So B came and helped me breathe by trying to keep me afloat. So I tried, coughed and sputtered mostly. And didnt like the idea of water creeping up my nose. And the feeling. But I made some headway in the trying-to-breathe-my-poking-my-head-outta-water exercise.

Then I just went into floating mode. It was a pretty windy day today. And I could feel the wind blowing above me sometimes. And that was a nice feeling. And then, floating feels super good. I just checked out the floor below, the way it was made, looked sideways, wall. Looked the otherside, water. And I couldnt see the other wall. Slightly freaked me out. Got scared and stood up. And then went back again. Looked this way and that inside water and got used to it. If we can float, then we should technically be able to walk or sit on water. There must be a way. There should be a different technique of doing it. A different breathing exercise.
I have heard of Yogis being able to wear close to nothing and not feel the bone-chilling temperatures of the Himalayas or the heat of super tropic zones. Apparently they all controlled it through breathing. I want to go trek the Himalayas some day. It will be good to do it as a group. I had a great experience trekking up the Vaishno Devi Hill. If we can call it a hill. To me it was pretty way up. And that is where I saw the first snow. When I saw it first, I thought someone had washed clothes, and it was foam. The snow that I saw was like crushed ice more or less. Thereafter in Switzerland. Good fun.

Coming back to floating, it was wonderful to feel water around me. I had this phobia .... if I pour water over my head, I gotta see around. I cant keep my eyes closed. From when I was a kid. So mom used to have the toughest time giving me a head bath. I must have drowned in some previous birth. So this Swimming exercise, is one step to coming to terms with my phobia and probably remembering as to what happened that I am scared of water at some level. I dont have a basic phobia, I loving being in there, but I scared of seeing nothing except water after a point in time. Some day I ll go deep sea diving as well.

I think everyone in this world must know how to swim. MUST know.

I booked online for a movie for the first time through www.thecinema.in
I must say that it was damn cool. Sitting at home, booking tickets and just landing up there. The only thing would be to get into the complex and find parking.

We were pretty much bang on time, watched X Men 3. And we also booked the grub that can come to us during interval. So no need to stand in queue, get pushed about and stuff like that. Only the Popcorn that came to us, I thought it was a wee bit stale. But otherwise the concept rocks. You pay an extra 5 bucks for booking online, an extra 10/- if you are choosing your seats and an extra 10 for ordering your food. For about 450 bucks the work was done for the three of us.

And my new crush is the Bird Man in X Men 3 !!!

One of the reasons for blobs of pink in my viewing glasses are the participants in Super Singer. Those who have been filtered so far, have been super sports. A couple had to withdraw. I am stunned at the way they retain their camaraderie and friendliness and keep cheering other participant's performances. There is no feelings of jealousy or untoward competitiveness. Each knows what he / she is worth and they just give their all in each performance. Several contestants have grown in their musicianship. Some keep reinventing themselves. When I think probably this person might not come back the next round, bang - he bounces back so much that the wall breaks. To such an extent that I am left with my mouth gaping and even if a fly took residence in their for a while I wouldnt have known. Sometimes people just crumble under pressure, and others shine out. Just like a diamond cant be easily extracted from the heart of the stone. The unwanted outsides have to be ground, chiselled, cut.... actually the diamond goes through torture. But when it does emerge in all its splendid glory, it has no equal. More than anything else, I find that the participants at this stage, all of them have their head on their shoulders. They know their minuses and accept it. And they work to fortify their pluses more.

One of the things I regret sometimes is that I never really had a group of friends. And now, I have met a few people and Super Singer has really made me meet a lot of people. I am more in touch with the people of my age group and of course I am the joke of the group. Most of the time, I cant get double entendres. Actually there seem to be several entendres to one particular word. But then I have a good time laughing along, one at my own dumbness, for which I am not sorry in this case and another because at the end of the day, my system has released enough endorphins to last ages :)

Several times, people have had trouble to look through the celeb tag and interact with me on a normal level. And I also wonder "what celeb tag"? And the first time that people took the guts to speak to me as their classmate or something were the final 15-20 participants. I have learnt a lot, about people, about myself, about judging, about music, about hosting a show, about speaking in tamil non stop, about goofing up and taking some 15 re takes, about the travails about conducting a show of this magnitude, how people keep their cool when all around there is mayhem. Several things.

And I eventhough one of the participants here will be another playback singer in the industry, that is the one super singer, and the others who have come this far, definitely stand a chance in making it soon, I believe that when we meet again, in the course of time, at shows, or recording when we work together, the easy rapport and the goodness that the participants have will remain. And so I pray.

How tough....

is to be a clean slate? A transparent person, someone uncomplicated and not complicate other situations? Several times I wonder why we all have to muck a lot of things up. Right from school, even in younger days I have known a few children having the knack to mess up things in other students project work, tell lies about some others and get them punished, and as we grow, it reaches different levels.
People fall in the way of others so that something good in their view doesnt happen to them. I have seen it happen to others, and most of the times you have to remain a mute observer. There is nothing that you can say, or do, and only hope that justice will have an upper hand. And sometimes, probably it is necessary for the person on the receiving end to go through such an experience. I read this quote somewhere "Please God, I have had enough of learning experiences" I can understand the thought process behind that now. Several magazines write on how to deal with bitchy co employees, those who steal your ideas in the work place and make them their own, make sure someone is ousted... at such times you wonder how these guys are happy while some are always at the receiving end. I guess somewhere, all this stems from insecurity at some level. Why cant those who spend the time to ruin others' lives spend the same working on the betterment of their own? Work on improving their own brains, skills, so that they have a justifiable edge over anyone else? Why cant people concentrate on their own paths instead of taking the trouble to walk up another's, place boulders on them, make sure they fall over and then probably come back to their own paths? These are times I wish that I went back to when I looked at the world with pink glasses. Now the world is definitely grey, if not black at times, with blobs of pink here and there. Maybe so that I appreciate the pink more, I treasure it more.

More than anything else, you have to be scared because you are a brilliant person. Whether the others will let you exist. But then, we all have to live in the hope that things will be better and that one day all bad things will end. And that justice will prevail'in the end'. But what about in between?

How tough....

is to be a clean slate? A transparent person, someone uncomplicated and not complicate other situations? Several times I wonder why we all have to muck a lot of things up. Right from school, even in younger days I have known a few children having the knack to mess up things in other students project work, tell lies about some others and get them punished, and as we grow, it reaches different levels.
People fall in the way of others so that something good in their view doesnt happen to them. I have seen it happen to others, and most of the times you have to remain a mute observer. There is nothing that you can say, or do, and only hope that justice will have an upper hand. And sometimes, probably it is necessary for the person on the receiving end to go through such an experience. I read this quote somewhere "Please God, I have had enough of learning experiences" I can understand the thought process behind that now. Several magazines write on how to deal with bitchy co employees, those who steal your ideas in the work place and make them their own, make sure someone is ousted... at such times you wonder how these guys are happy while some are always at the receiving end. I guess somewhere, all this stems from insecurity at some level. Why cant those who spend the time to ruin others' lives spend the same working on the betterment of their own? Work on improving their own brains, skills, so that they have a justifiable edge over anyone else? Why cant people concentrate on their own paths instead of taking the trouble to walk up another's, place boulders on them, make sure they fall over and then probably come back to their own paths? These are times I wish that I went back to when I looked at the world with pink glasses. Now the world is definitely grey, if not black at times, with blobs of pink here and there. Maybe so that I appreciate the pink more, I treasure it more.

More than anything else, you have to be scared because you are a brilliant person. Whether the others will let you exist. But then, we all have to live in the hope that things will be better and that one day all bad things will end. And that justice will prevail'in the end'. But what about in between?

I love long drives...We usually drive down to Bangalore. I take my dance classes there. And thankfully this time went without any mishaps. We came back today in 3 and a half hours flat and we stepped within our house within 4! Guess the idea of driving back on a Sunday after 3 in the afternoon is a good idea.

This is usually the time for contemplation, and though I dont keep humming, because one, the noise of the machine is way too high, and its better for professional voices to not sing in moving vehicles. Mom and I usually talk about stuff that I did, I sang, or things I should have done in a given situation. I love those times. And the rest is spent in silence. Watching some vehicles zip past me. Watching some people walking by. The greenery around.

This time, the weather in Bangalore was pretty sleepy. And dreary. I am more for the sunny weather. So much dullness around gets to me. And I can easily lapse into a depressive silence and mope. I finished rehearsing two items in Dance class and started learning a new piece.

I meet a lot of people. Small wonder this. Sometimes, I am amazed as to how many are made, there is a lot to imbibe from them, some are bearable, and a few are not. There had been a phase when I looked at the world with pink glasses alone. And then it shifted to a grey view. And thankfully now, there is some technicolor again. I see now as to why I didnt have several friends. Or a close group so to say. I dont do what most people my age do. Because I think most of the time, I might be freaking people in my own age group out. I dont understand common parlance of my age. I have the duh look most of the times, but after Super Singer, my general knowledge is getting better. And maybe because I am a singer and then I tend to be preoccupied with learning most of the time, I am not taken as an easy member of one. I would probably be better off as a come-and-go kind. Even then, I see that a lot of topics are not discussed when I am around within my friends whom I have known for years since school. In the beginning I found it very strange, I still do, but now I am used to it. Probably why I am comfortable in the company of a lot of older people because they primarily look at me as a person and probably as a singer next.

I wonder if the state of affairs is like this for me, I wonder what it is like for people who are super famous. It must be a tough act to pul through.

And as the curtains draw to a close on another day of my life, I look forward to a tomorow, which will make me a better person than I am today, a better musician than I am today, and take me a step closer to that which I seek.

My Latest Songs

Have sung two songs in KD, under Yuvan Shankar Raja's music.
Listen to them here.

I will be meeting a friend with whom I have been only speaking with for the past seven years or so. Each time we would make plans to go to the other's city of residence, but we never managed. Even when I went to Bombay for a short while, for a day or something, to get the Schengen Visa, it wasnt possible to meet up then either. And finally looks like our time has come, and we get to meet. Its going to be a pretty long stay for about 20 days and we sure are gonna have a lot of fun :) Am looking forward to it.

Talking of friends and catching up, I have met people on orkut with whom I have lost touch ... I have met seniors, juniors, long lost neighbours and predominantly people who like my work.

When you are a kid, you fight for all stupid reasons, and after so long, its great to reminisce on those idiosynchrasies, and have look at the other in new light. Classmates who had been damn quiet are now 'chatterboxes' and those who were the life of class are sombre souls. Its strange sometimes as to how life changes us, and the role that friends play in our life.

In childhood we have to play with them, be with them, all the time. Fight, make up. All that. As we grow older, exams are passed on glass after glass of coffee (I used to have 10 glasses a day in 10th std.,), snacks and no sleep, (tough to have a finly honed mind and a finely honed body) , my best friend Yasas was my call-in-at-anytime-for-doubts person. I used to call up with the silliest queries and she used to be sooo patient explaining all that, with her all, even though most of the time it never penetrated my thick skull. Math is still my biggest nightmare ever. Then trips outside.... there was this one trip to Dizzee World. There was a time, when I and Yasas had fallen out, maybe for a year or two, but that trip was the one which brought us back together. We all had 'partners' to go to the trip with, but at the end of the day, I think I as going on a lot of rides with Yasas. Then there was this ride called the Ranger which used to go upside down and I was praying to save my life, or so one of my classmates recently said. Why she cant forget it is because she was hoping that my prayers would save her too.... Also one more thing which was very interesting is trying to score with the newest entrant in class. And there was this fight sometimes as to who will go with the birthday girl/guy to the other classes to give chocolate to the other teachers. Escape from class for a while, butter up birthday kid and get a few extra chocolates in the bargain.. Though I personally dont remember accompanying anyone...

When I joined school, Yasaswini and Shankar were the two most brilliant guys in class. An they remained that way until they left school. Shankar came All India first in CBSE 12th boards, yep you read right, and Yasaswini got into NUS, majored in Life Sciences, and I think the way she is giong she will find a cure for cancer. And in 6th std., I went upto them and told them, "how come you score so much? You dont even look intelligent"(!!) God knows what was going on my harebrain.
Trip to Hyderabad, in an exchange program, stayed at a school for a few days, had great fun, and at that time Yasas was my partner. 9th and 10th passed in whirl. And then I quit regular school and joined NOS, no attendance but I can still finish 12th with the same CBSE board. I never made friends in NOS as I had made in Hindu Senior. We had the best Principal ever, Mr V Venkatachalam, super dynamic man, and unfortunately for the other batches, he left the school when we finished 12th.

I am not in touch with everyone. Now people are busy settling down with work, lives, building houses, building homes. Its amazing, when at a point in time we thought we cant survive without our friends, that we have drifted slowly but surely, but somewhere down the line, there is an unseen skein which links us. I have thought of classmates I wasnt even close to, outta the blue. Wonder what they are doing, stuff like that. We grow up, grow apart, and life keeps grinding. And by the time, we all catch up properly, and bond as we used to as kids, we'd have probably retired, and then we would probably talk about our grandchildren blogging about their friends..

I know I wanted to blog about something, but now that the window is open, I forgot what..

for now I am super excited about watching MI-3 today, before most people in India :)
Lets say its the usual kiddy thing about getting something first before anyone else ... yoo hooooo

Actually gotta lot to blog about Super Singer.. me is having super fun.... for me its super fun... :D
Me happy and joyful

Ford Fusion - To buy or not to buy?

Well so we have been taking a vareity of cars for test drives.

The Ford Fiesta - like it
Hyundai Accent - but since its in phase out we'll have to check out the new one if at all we want to buy that one
Honda City - drove it but didnt like it for whatever reason
Ford Ikon - like it but also in phase out
And finally the Ford Fusion. Like this one quite a bit. And they are offering a massive discount for this month. About a lakh and a half on the Cost Price. Which made me wonder why they would do something like that.
The dealer claims the car gives 10 kmpl. The others say it can give about 6 at the max.

So now I want a verdict on this one.. whether or not to go in for this car.
Lemme know. Thanks in Advance.

I have been singing for as long as I can remember. But the past two weeks have seen me go through a metamorphosis. I always knew I could never be without music. And active performance.

Some people thought that I sing because mom tells me to and I wouldnt do it otherwise. Becos she always had to remind me to practise. And I did it. And I didnt several times. After a point mom let go. Knowing I would come round eventually.

And now I know what it is all about. Mom has given me a foundation in music few can dream of and has chosen to be the candle for me to be the light. I have met people who have wanted to sing in the middle of the night, in the middle of the road. Just because the ambience was perfect. I almost used to die of embarassment. Now I know how that feels. To want to sing not because you are playing to an audience. But because you really want to. And after a point in time you cant survive if you dont. Its not that I have not wanted to sing in these many years. I thrived in it. But now I feel as if I have shifted to a different level. Where I am longing to seek. To search and to look for God in it. And that after a while I am not the one singing, its HE who makes me. He who makes it all happen. And now I realize that actually being a part of music is very humbling. When you meet different people, hear them sing, perform, talk.... you know where you actually stand. And somewhere the shift to a true sadhaka happens. I have read several times, heard several times, people talking about music being an ocean, and great masters saying that they are not even a drop. Though I understood the grammar then, its taken me this long to understand the essence. Sometimes tears just start flowing when I listen to music. Sometimes when I sing. And usually when I listen to someone else. I cant stop them from happening... its like a dam burst open. And when that happens I feel as if that is when I want to be engulfed in light and become nothing. I feel fluid .. and thereafter you just want to stay... dont wanna eat .. dont wanna drink dont wanna move. Even batting your eyelids is laborious. .... actually I dont know... when people say music is a spiritual experience its bang on. There was a time when I didnt wanna practise. Because then it was a task. And for the past two weeks, I am in a tearing hurry to sing... other times I am singing in my mind. meditating on it. I crave to learn more... to fill this empty vessel. Now seeking out is almost an obsession.'obsession' as such is a scary word to use but for now I cant think of a better expression.

I am like anyone else. Laughing, being crazy, doing the usual stuff. But my insides have shifted. My vision has changed. My outlook to music is different. And now I sing for the sake of singing. I feel as if my journey towards sadhana has started. Its taken this long. I have tried mom's patience. All that. And now, mom sees the change in me. I have been wondering, for ages as to what I am looking for. What is missing. And I realize now that it is this.

I look, I search, I seek, I run after. And God willing, I shall find.

Jab seene mein dard ho aansoon ko roken kaise?
Jab dhuan uthe, aag ko chupaayen kaise?

One great weekend

Had some kinda extended weekend, restarted my dance classes and had a great jamming session with Vodka, Shyam, Mac, GNR, Vicky and Rocky. One great group.
Some 3 hours of singing late into the night and waddda time that was. Wont ever forget it.
I have almost never had a band of friends as such. It was good to meet one. They all come together on weekends to make music or jam as I understand. And I bet it must be some great time!
We drove down to Bangalore. and one the way the car heated up so much it started smoking and of course it wouldnt start. All this after we had given it for service the previous day to get them to check if everything was in order. And when this happened, we called this guy at the service and he asked to pour water in the radiator. That did it. The car was in a bigger mess and finally had to be towed to the nearest service station where they had to service the radiator, change the engine oil which the ABT guy claimed to do, but when they drained the oil, it was like pitch. No coolant as well. That guy had drained it and forgot to fill. But we got billed anyway. And finally after some 6 hours of staying in the service station and watch them dismantle the car, we finally hit the road. And in the history of road travel to Bangalore this would be a strong contender for the longest at about 14 hours. Of course counting the stranded time. Finally reached Bangalore. Went into our friend's place, watched Super Singer. And there was an unoffical 'shooting' on one of the handycams where I had to act like myself in Super Singer. It was great fun. Took a shower, the 8 of us had pizza, checked mail and later we started jamming. And that was the best part.

Resumed my dance classes the next morning and knew what people mean when they say that the legs are on fire. But I eventually improved and am glad am on the road to achieving my goals in dance as well. We also met some classical musicians and had some singing sessions as well.
In total, it was music all the way, and have never felt better in my life.

My own Laptop

The Macbook Pro. After much deliberation and months of reading through articles and asking people for opinions, I decided to zero in on this silver thing. It feels great that I could finally get it and though I got it about a week back, thanks to a couple of friends who decided to bring it down for me. Thanks a lot. I will never, ever forget it.

Shooting has been mad, and life has been very busy. But as has been clear from previous posts, I like being busy round the clock. I see that I am a workaholic. Though sometimes I might grumble about not having enough sleep and having dark circles, which doesnt really do any good to a girl's face, or anyone's faces for that matter, but then, hey, whats make up for? If it cant conceal dark circles that is? Make-up for the lost sleep ;)

I am yet to figure out some things and am gonna start with learning something new soon. The way it has gone, it wont be possible for me to finish my masters this year. The next it will be. By which time I plan to submit my project and the research work. Hope I'll do my PhD as well. But then, if I become so super busy with music, I guess I will have to postpone my PhD to when I retire from active performances. :) Am pretty sure that I wont be a megalomaniac, something that mom has coached me more than music itself. Retire when I am at my peak.

Airtel Super Singer has taught me several lessons already. What I see that several people are supra confident, and have spunk. Which I guess I will never have. Even those who were eliminated in the first few rounds believed they sang brilliantly. I am really amazed with that quality. And that confidence showed in their performance. And they werent scared to try out new things on stage. And by the way, that is not sarcasm. Just dont want to be misread here. I have met several different types of people, those who were well past their prime and believed that they could give a go at the contest, and win as well, physically disabled people, but the spirit they have was amazing. People who stood for a long time to get in. Makes me thank God. I am incredibly lucky. And some zillion thanks to Rahman Sir. If maybe, he hadnt believed that I could have sung KMI, I would have been nowhere. If there are two people for whom I ll carry my indebtedness forever, that would be to Mom and Rahman sir.

And the shooting schedules at Vijay TV. Wow. Actually I have it very easy. I just have to report at the venue do my bit and come back when the shoot is over. They, on the other hand have to be there before me, leave after me, do some truckloads of editing and this that, coordinate with the participants. And they are also humans. Most of the crew haven't slept in days. They have been working round the clock.

Watching Unnikrishnan Anna judge was a wonderful experience. He was crystal clear in what he did. And he had a nice way of giving his decree. The way he made some contestants sing, and each contestant had something like a mini class with him. Anuradha ma'am was damn cool. Mom has always said that she was a brilliant person and a super brain. I saw all that. And heard her sing a lot of stuff. She was a fun person out and out. Srinivas sir. My First judge in Saptaswarangal. And who was instrumental in taking me to Rahman Anna. Brought back nostalgic memories, and reminded me of the time that I was in front of him, shivering in my shoes and singing. And now I was hosting the show. Felt happy in the growth. And I know that he feels happy that I have grown as well.

The preliminary rounds with Mahati, Malaysia Vasudevan Sir, S P Shailaja Ma'am, Imman Sir, Malathi ma'am, Seerkazhi sir and Jency Ma'am. Was great. Shailaja ma'am has a great sense of humour. And I only came to realize that Seerkazhi sir is a practising doctor. And we mostly spoke about how the participants sang. And times when most of the judges at some point in time or the other, that if they had to participate now, they'd have lost. More than anything else, Vijay TV has given me a chance to interact with people I would have taken much longer to meet and interact with for such a long time. Jency Ma'am. I never expected to meet. She was highly soft spoken and she was highly sweet. I even tried to speak to her in my broken Malayalam, and she was sportive to continue a conversation. And also said that I sing well :)

The participants, I have met several of them, have made some friends, been ragged, had fun, enjoyed out and out.

More than anything else, the Vijay TV crew, they have been extremely encouraging, and made me look good on screen. My thanks to them go out from here. And they make us feel at home. I have sometimes done some 10 takes. Just because my brain stopped working. And all they would tell me is to cool and relax. Great times. And I have a ball each time. I will miss being around them when the shoot is over.....

And hope this fulfills the wishes of those people who have mailed me to write about my experiences with the show.

Looping in my player 'I'll Be Right there' - Bryan Adams, after ages. Had totally forgotten this song. There is something about BA, eventhough he doesnt have the greatest voices in history. It can almost be defined as hoarse. I was introduced to his music when I was in my 10th std by a neighbour. And the first song I had heard was Please forgive me or maybe it was Everything I do. And that was the day I fell in love with his music. I couldnt make it to his first couple of concerts and when I did go this year, it was a dream come true. Another wish, some day I should perform alongside him. That'll be THE day.
As this song is repeating in my player, feel like dancing a ballet. Soft lights. In an empty auditorium. Built in the way the Opera House is built, in Modena, Italy.. where I performed for Ilayaraja Sir's concert. A wispy costume maybe. Nothing but the song and me. I cant dance ballet for nuts. But I can visualize myself.... Right there.
Or maybe a starry night and a full moon, a stream gushing away nearby, the air smelling of dew in a grassy meadow. And a silver beam from the skies right in the middle of the meadow, to be enveloped in and be transported to the realms of the pure. And be purified. To feel like nothing. To be fluid. And to have a beatific smile and reach higher and higher .. the unknown. To know the unknown.
If there was a gift I wish I had, that would be to have the gift to heal.

Rang De Basanti

Mom and I watched Rang de after ages of planning and going to the theatre twice and returning without tickets.
And waddddda movie. Super acting. Have never seen an actor cry for real before. Today on, me a super fan of Aamir Khan.
And the music. Super duper. No words to describe. Rahman sir is super too cool.

Something that we always knew, no use blaming India for the way it is. And one dialogue which will go down history "No country is perfect. usko perfect banana padtha hai"
People here have too much time, dont wanna do anything, just sit around and gossip. Evident in small things. When the electricity goes, the first thing that anyone will say, is to find out whether there is electricity in the next house, instead of looking for a candle and finding your own light. More than a cold blooded criminal, an idle man is the biggest hazard of any nation. Why the nation, lets talk small. An apartment complex, a street, an area.

People can actually create work, if they dont have anything to do instead of just crapping. Wonder when we will finally grow up.

Your Opinion

We have started looking into Mid Segment cars and have been wondering which one is DA One.
We like the Accent as of now, but seems like its gonna be upgraded and would be best to wait until that version is released.
Would really appreciate some guidance on this. TIA

Airtel Super Singer
Telecast on Fridays and Saturdays 8 pm IST
Starting today :-)

Talking of Wifi, I went to Barista and to a food sone on GN Chetty road to find both were WiFi enabled. Seems there are more than I expected in the city. And as I see chennai station is also supposed to have WiFi but our laptop didnt detect it.

Wonder how many places in Chennai has Wifi not including IIT

I usually crib about the airlines we travel on.
And Paramount airways is an exception. Great flight, great travel and more than anything else the plane landed like a dream. No plonking on the runway this time. Came to know that the pilot was firang. And apparently Paramount had trouble taking off because Indian food didnt agree with the pilots. Poor things. There must be some way of getting them used the food here. Inflight food was great too. The flight was delayed by 2 hours or so from Madurai and during which time I tried to clear some of my backlogue. Thanks to WiFi. Wish all cities will be WiFi enabled and we can pay internet bills as we do now for dial up or broad band accounts. That will be the day!
Another interesting thing was that when we were exiting Madurai Railway station there was a board saying that area was WiFi enabled. Chennai railway station has no WiFi but Madurai does?? I was totally stunned.. now can someone tell me whether that is true?
Three days in Madurai .. great time. Did I mention the super fun I am having hosting this show???

Also got in touch with a couple of classmates from 6th standard I had lost touch with. Must say Orkut is a great place. It felt good to be back in touch and catching up on lost times. And also realized how time flies. I think by the time I realize what happened, I will be 48.
Also talking of time whooshing by, its sad how several people waste it. I used to do it once, and when mom used to tell me that this leisure will never come and that I should make use of it to learn as much as I can, the truth rings too loudly in my ears now. The youth have so much energy to harness and so much time. A lot dont attend college. But my classmate for the Msc program, who is also teacher told me that the students were supra burdened with education that when they reach college they couldnt care less. Also she said there is not much difference in the syllabus of the first two years in Physics and Maths bachelor programs. And they dont want to take classes. SO much can be learnt. Perfecting small skills. And once the youth empower themselves the country can prosper. No use saying India is the way it is because of this and that. And people who dont know what to do with their time are interested in disrupting others'. Thats the main problem around here. People want to be jobless enough to degrade themselves. When will we learn?

In Madurai for the Airtel Super Singer Zonals. Day 1 is done. Day 2 will start in a few hours from now. Had a whale of a time. When we landed in Madurai, there was a slight hitch in the internet connection in the Hotel and we went across to the internet kiosk on the opposite side. And strangely enough the manager of the kiosk refused to take money for my internet usage and took my autograph instead. Cant really describe that feeling. Its definitely not super elation like wowwwww I got something free coz someone recognized me...actually dunno. I am just plain confused. The internet connection at our hotel was later restored. Thank God for huge mercies. Nowadays I almost feel handicapped without an active internet connection. Phew we are all slaves of technology.
Went to Meenakshi Temple, the Theppa Kulam, the Naicker Mahal though I didnt go inside, I was too busy blowing bubbles, and wherever our car went, you could find a string of bubbles trailing behind. I found that I still have a fascination for that soap liquid and the weird shaped tube or pipe or whatever-you-cal- it which I have grown used to seeing over the years. Small joys at Rs. 5. Of course, if you buy the same outside Odyssey in Gandhi Nagar, Chennai, its 50 bucks.

We also checked out the Yanai Kal and Kal Palam. And then we returned to the hotel. By the way, this was all part of the work for which we had come here. The talent so far in all three cities has been great and am looking forward to see how the zeroing down will happen.
Got a deadline to meet. Gotta go.
Lots more to come. Stay tuned :)

The Chennai Auditions went by succesfully and I cant imagine the amount of fun I am having. Have been meeting a lot of people, and I have ended up asking the same girl her name thrice. And its amazing how people still have the patience to reply. And then I remember I already asked them and then tell them I have short term memory loss. Somehow, as far as my memory is concerned a lot of data that is stored in Short Term Memory and its travel to Long Term Memory, there seems to be a slip somewhere... the travel just fails to happen. I am amazed as to how some people can remember several things, names, birthdays, addresses, clothes they wore... whoah that is something. Wish I get that ... at least will lead less ppl to think that I am the 'celeb' types not remembering names. Now that I am on this side, I see really how tough it is for people to recall and next time someone doesnt remember who I am, I know what it is like... and in most cases they are not faking it.
The one thing about the auditions is that I have never done so much walking and running about in my life and I am usually dead on my legs. Have woken up after about 11 hours of sleep. I really wonder how people in Vijay TV manage. And how they manage to keep their head cool after all this. And I fly off the lid if a translator doesnt deliver on time.....
Looking forward to the Madurai Auditions of Airtel Super Singer.

Those of you who havent made it to Coimbatore and Chennai, catch the train to Madurai and watch Vijay TV for important info!

My First Item Number

In Pachai Guthirai. I have been excited about it right from when I recorded the song one month ago for Sabesh-Murali sirs. I share the space with Pop Shalini And Suchitra in that song.
I had a great time singing the song, one because I hadn't done something exactly like this before and must give a BIG thank you to the Music Directors and Parthiban Sir.

Whoever has been following up on my songs, please listen to it and lemme know how it sounds!

Chennai Auditions - Airtel Super Singer

16th April
Chennai Convention Centre
Nandambakkam.

Be there by 7:00 am and start rocking!

Airtel Super Singer

Have received a few mails regarding the experience of anchoring Super Singer. It was absolutely amazing, Vijay TV was extremely patient with me, and I learnt how to talk nineteen to a dozen in Tamil. Of course, I was tongue tied sometimes, the words just didnt come out, and there were times, when they got to recognise a certain blank look on my face to see that nothing is working around my gray cells. As of now, I will not be able to write about what happened Behind the scenes until they telecast the show.

But as far as I am concerned its a ride!

Marakka Mudiyuma

I have finally got hold of the title song from this serial for which I have received several mails and requests

For all those who have asked me, you can now listen to it here

Yet to edit my post on the Coimbatore experience which was rollicking.
Cary and the SS Music team came home to shoot 'I, Me, Myself' and it was good talking to him. And after ages I was talking in English on TV. :) Got to speak about a lot other than music which was also nice, since I didnt have to answer the routine questions. And then the best part was when Cary was talking about how he Got Mr Amitabh Bacchan to record the voice mail message "Hi you have called Cary, please leave a message and I will make sure that he calls you back". Super smart. If I had known his number then, I would have called his mobile and wished he wouldnt answer it .. hee hee.
The interview was good and guess it will be shown sometime on SS Music. Also recording the promo for the show was fun, as I was instructed to 'hit' Cary's head with a cushion each time he was half way through a sentence. It took me a couple of takes to get the right, cos by the time I thought it was time to get the cushion come into contact with his head, it was too late. Got to know a lot of things about anchoring a show in English on TV, first was when I met Craig from SS and now Cary.

Have sung in Kalaba Kadhalan, Amirtham, Thunicchal and Nee venumda Chellam. The songs are on my audio blog. Have also uploaded a title song of a serial which is currently being aired, "Vamsa Vriksham".
Check them out :)

First Round of Airtel Super Singer

In Coimbatore. 1st and 2nd April.
I might be posting updates from there or might not. Depends on how it will go. Am frankly looking forward to it.
Went to Besant Nagar beach after ages. I grew up in Adyar and I really miss that place. Nothing like Adyar and nothing like being close to the beach. Cycling down most of the times. Mom and I went and ate at Planet Yumm, bought some spiced boiled peanuts, which I buy from one particular lady. Its super. Sometimes, I have driven almost 18 kilometers to get that one pack of peanuts.
Anyway work has been great as usual. And its been great on the music side also. Life is good and me is joyful :)

Change in Plans

Instead of judging the competition, I am now hosting the show.

And now I wil be brandishing the mic in Coimbatore, Madurai and Chennai.

Something I have not done before and seems to be good fun, and I learn another skill. How cool is that? :D

Aahista Aahista.....

Snatching some time to blog. This song has been looping in my player and in my brain for about 4-5 days now. Actually its been looping subconsciously from the day I heard it. This song has made me smile, put me in retrospective mode, made me weep..... Its wonderful to listen to Mr Udit Narayan's not to mention the soft strains of Ms. Sadhna Sargam's voice. BTW its the song from Swades.
I really marvel at Mr Udit Narayan's capacity as a singer. He can sing total 'gaana' songs and songs like this. And its taken me quite a long time for my pea brain to understand that though this song seems to be slow, its actually not. It has a quite a pace.

Most of the times, I cant work or do anything else when I am listening to music, contrary to what most people. Cant concentrate on anything else. .....It would have been something to listen to Rahman sir weave his magic in the song. I had the chance to listen to him play for the first time, when he played in En Uyir thozhiye in Kangalal Kaidhu Sei. It was as if the Raag Durga just flowed through to his keyboard. Fluid. Total bliss for about... how long I dont remember.. but it was one of the best Durga-s I have ever heard. More than singing for him, I wish I could be the fly on the wall and hear him play. I have heard it a couple of times, but as a rasika, I really long to hear more of that.............................. if only words could translate music..

Wish sometimes, I could have had the talent of a poet, for none other than he who is talented in poetry could find the right words to describe music. As for me, whatever I say with describing music is concerned falls way too short of what I want to express. Thats where some words help.. spellbound. speechless.

Judging the Zonals

I will be on the Judging Panel for Super Singer for the Coimbatore Zonals along with Mr Malaysia Vasudevan. People can either send the tape to Vijay TV or walk in at the venue, where I am not sure. Though its slightly strange that they put in a pip squeak like me on the Judging panel, considering I am one of the youngest still........

The dates for The Madurai Zonals are the 5th and the 6th, and moves to Chennai about 10 days later. Around the 15th or 16th. Not too sure. Will update.

You will probably see me on promos for the show, asking people to participate.
One of the lines I was asked to say:

"Neenga Nalla paaduveengala? Appo enga kitterndhu thappave Mudiyaadhu" (Do you sing well? Then you cant escape from us") Literal translation of course! :D

But anyway, I think its going to be great fun!

BTW did I mention that winning this would entitle the winner to sing for Mr Harris Jeyaraj?