Chennai!!!!!

Whats up forum,

I have a very important work to do..But still..(Oru flash back music play pannikonga)

I was in Chennai last weekend..WW2.6 and WW2.7 as some would say..:-P..(WW naa work week..Intel has the work week rather than the normal calendar week..IBU lam poda try panle..). I was full of verve friday night coz I was gonna rise the next morning in 'Singaara Chennai'..As usual KSRTC untime a 4.30 ku 'Koyembedu' kondu poi vittan..I really have to digress to talk about some names in and around Chennai like Koyambedu..Infact naanum Arunum indha matter vechu dan most of the bus journey time pass panninom (More on that later)...Most of them are very good Thamizh names, given to a synthesizer for distorting in a totally arbitrary manner..To quote Arun, " Aminji karai is what Chennai does to Amaindha karai"..Similarly you have Chembarambaakkam , Purashavaakkam, Chepauk , virugambaakkam,Gummanaanchavadi, pammal, Gummudipoondi etc.. I somehow feel good about pronouncing the 'x-ambaakkam' names..Also there are very British like names... "Thousand lites" , "Mount Road", "Egmore" etc..

Getting back to the 'crux' of the matter, at 4.30 am on a saturday morning M70 enroute Thiruvaanmiyur (another beautiful name) was 'filled to the brim'. The city was up and running at a time which the average Bangalorean is unaware of. All temples were open and some of them blaring loud devotional songs, lads brandishing their cricket bats enroute to the beach and I could even find some shops open. All this gave a really good feeling. People were enjoying the weather probably because its the only time in the day they can do so :-P..

After an hour I reached Arun's place in Thiruvaanmiyur. Of course he was enjoying the weather sleeping peacefully until I woke him up..Very soon I too started enjoying Chennai's climate..He had warned me saying, "Dey 7 o clock mela veyil adikka aarambichudum..Ippave padu"...He is right. In Chennai ppl dont have to go to gym to loose weight. They just have to exist...:-P..The weather takes care of everything else. I believe the weather there is one of the main reasons for the dynamic lifestyle compared to the drab and sedentary life style of B'lore. Its like you are knee deep in steaming soup and forced to move around to escape the heat..

But luckily WW2.6 was awesome. It was cloudy , windy and cool. Perfect Bangalore weather in Chennai. No better combination for sight-seeing. As a matter of fact Thiruvanmiyur beach is just 5 mins from Arun's house (Thalaivar bayangara posh locality le dan irukaaru)..First thing in the morning we went to the beach..Its almost a month since I went to Chennai and I had a feeling that the sea was swollen :-P..for which Arun replied "Dey adhu vera onnum ille ...Nee gundu aayirukke!!!"..
After the customary feet wash in "Mahodhadhi" (Bay of Bengal in Sanskrit :-) ) we left for his home..

I had the best breakfast in one month at his home..In Blore due to non availability of South Indian food either because its unhygienic or over priced, I had restricted my breakfast to just fruits or pongal(only comestible dish I found) or nothing. But in Chennai I was astounded to know that 6 Dosa's and a generous serving of Chutney Sambhar costs just Rs 15 and the best part is that its home made. A similar serving either overly oiled or uncooked would easily cost thrice in Bangalore. Enna irundhaalum saappadukku namma oora adichikka mudiyaadhu!!!

After a hearty break fast we embarked on a journey to Egmore museum. It was a good 1.5 hour journey and we were discussing the wins and woes of our respective workplaces. By the way Arun works in Atmel which is also a semiconductor company.(More about Arun later)..Ya so time just flew by and we reached Egmore. For the first time , I had the feeling that I was in a 'Big City'..I did not have this feeling even when I came to Blore from Coimbatore..Honestly Bangalore can never attain Chennai's magnificence..The sophistication of the place just got on to us.

The first place we visited enroute the museum was Spencer Plaza Music World..I went in search of 'Aandavan aathma aanmeegam' and he was in search of ear phones. Both of us returned empty handed. :-)..My mom whose early life (pre-marital) was in Chennai has told me a lot of Egmore glories..Higgin botham's, Baskin robbins, Spencer plaaza etc in the 1970's..Did Blore even know of such names then?? Bangalore now can be best compared to "Pudhu panakkaaran"..The pristine parts of Blore (cantonment area, Ulsoor, etc) are still similar to some landscapes in Chennai (Guindy, Egmore etc)..So this has made me opine that Bangalore was like Chennai but is slowly drifting away from its pristine form. The only area I hear where hints of proper Blore can still be found is the areas surrounding the cantonment.

It was nearly 1.00 pm when we came out of Spencer's and we spotted a certain Ponnusamy hotel. A Merc C class, BMW 520 di and an Audi A3 was parked infront of the hotel. Adhellam kooda paravaale...What put us off our feet was the impeccably dressed security..We gave each other sheepish looks and as usual Arun who sees the best in any situation remarked ," Dey security irukkara hotel le ellam namma saapda koodadhu"..And off we went to the museum..

We started our photo sessions and continued until an 'aaya' reminded us that photography is prohibited. That made us take rest for a couple of minutes before we started afresh concentrating more on the "prohibited" zone..Interested readers can refer to FB for pics. We covered the museum in about an hour and the art gallery in about 5 mins and I remarked, " Dey coverage semaya irukku le" ..This brought back memories of AD days..For more info on that refer to Arun's blog..

We had a late half lunch at some cafe and left for our destinations. Actually I had planned to cover Kanchipuram also in the evening but due to ignorance of bus routes, I opted Guindy instead of T Nagar to catch the bus to Kanchi. I had planned for 3 p.m but when we reached Guindy it was past 4.0pm and hence I had to drop it. Arun returned home and I visited the Shiva temple in Thiruvaanmiyur before getting back home.

I had Guitar lessons that night. In fact Arun had earlier in the morning taught me to play C-chord and in the night Gautham came home and taught me to play some alphabet - sharp chord. If u don't believe refer to FB pics..It was great fun playing the guitar..The day culminated with a sumptuous dinner of hot adai's and chappathi with coconut chutney.

In all it was a memorable day..Everything was perfectly in place and I had a peaceful, contented sleep.

The next morning WW2.7, I was off to Kanchi..More on that later.

I dedicate this pst to God.

Bengaluru!!!!!

Whats up forum,

I have very important work to do but all that can wait....

This post for a change is dedicated to my bivouac, ('Ok..othukaren..Nee nenakaradhu nyayam dan..') "Bangalore"..(Inga final countdown background music play pannikonga)...

Seri, why I say that is because Bangalore is where,

Volvo buses are more crowded than normal buses (othukaren...copied (O.C))..

For a certain distance (typically 1 k.m) prices of auto-rickshaw (which even the rich fear to use in Chennai) is comparable or even less than the bus fare (Sondha observation (S.O))

Two buses going to the same destination race against each other , the first one being filled to the brim and the second one practically empty. (S.O)

Two buses of the same number ply in different routes..(500C for example)..And you are made a sinner if you board the wrong bus.

The waiting time at a bus stop is inversely related to the number of good looking people of the opposite gender. (General observation...works here too.)

Every other day , a bus runs over a security person or a stray dog trying to cross the road.

Guys are dressed in thick woollens but the girls wear sleeveless tops..whatever..(S.O).

In Chennai the seasons are "It's hot".."I am frying"..."Oops...I am dead"..
But here "I am working from office"..."I am working from home".."I am on a vacation".. (S.O)

A Dosa and a Pizza costs the same..(May be C.O)

Atleast 40 creatures of the homosapien species are packed into a Swaraj Mazda travelling at record speeds..(S.O)..One good way to reduce weight..

Getting Bangalored is not uncommon.(S.O)

Rs 2 is the least indivisible currency...Talks are being held by auto-drivers and bus-conductors to increase it to Rs 5. It is already being implemented in some places.(S.O)

Sophistication does not accompany affluence. (S.O).

I got my first experience of being food-poisoned.(Definitely S.O).

At MG road !!!

Hi forum,

I have an important work to do but all that can wait...:-P.

New years eve annan MG road le spend pannan but enna vishayam na I was roaming around MG road from 10.30am to 12.30 am..Oru 12 hours advanced :-)..Nevertheless it was bustling with traffic...more specifically good looking traffic ;)..Am not talking about the foreigners..Am talking about my own "Indian cousin sisters"...'Adhu epdi dan kanimozhi (pun intended) , kayal vizhi ellam inga vandha odane ipdi maarraangalo' (mind voice)..Since I had formed a "nalla payyan" image, I quickly cleared the spot and keeping my gaze fixed straight like a horse with restrains , continued my walk to ABCD bank. ABCD is my ex-banker and to fully honor the 'ex' status, I needed to close the account. So in short, I was going to close my ABCD account...Its almost a 2km walk from Life-Style to MG road ABCD. So I was all sweaty and messy..I was expecting an audience similar to CBE branch..:-)..It was a total antithesis. Nothing or no one was out of place.I am not very good at descriptions..But all I can say is with no extra effort, everyone looked great.. So I was the black sheep and not having an option (thanks to my scruffy hair), I went to Mrs.Oklooking.(Though there were Ms.Better and Ms.Better Better looking)...Anga customer care ku ellam Mr....employ panle...Not my fault...In fact andha second I had a thought if I should really close the account. But kadavul mela baaratha potu I proceeded thinking there would be a better collection ;) at UVWX , my new banker..:-P)..She guided me to Ms Goodlooking..Bear in mind I am still shabby..Ms GL gave me a token and asked me to sit..I was enjoying the sights and scenes for a good 10 mins and the AC had restored my good looks :-P..My turn came and went to Ms Great looking. After brief introductions,

Ms Greatlooking : So Srini, have you brought your cheque book?
me : No mam.
Ms : You can call me YYY. So is there balance in your a/c?
me : Yes..er Yes YYY
Ms : Without a cheque book you cannot close the a/c. Besides how do you intend to withdraw.
me : Oh..Is there a withdrawal form that I can use YYY?
Ms : Hmmm I am afraid not. You may have to come back again.
me : 'Ippo office pona meeting mokka podum...meeting a... Ms a..'
me : I was also about to ask if you give home loans YYY.
Ms : Hmmmm..But you said you were going to close your account. We give loans only to account holders. Is there anything else before we close?
me : 'Twist vechutaale..'. Hmmm ya I gave a cheque last week but it was returned due to signature mismatch. I can verify the signature now. Can you pass the cheque??
Ms : Hmmm ll take a request for signature change and the old cheque can be deposited. I believe we are done.
me :'aaha.... endha ball potaalum goal podraale....meeting..marandhudadhe'
me : Not yet..Just one clarification. I need cash urgently and its held up in your bank. Can I withdraw without a cheque book??
Ms : Yes that's possible. It might take some time.
me : 'Take all the time you want.' ..Ok..try to make it as quickly as possible. I have a meeting to attend. 'Reverese Psychology :-P..'

She came back after 15 mins..I signed 2 cheques and went to the teller to process my withdrawal. The person in the teller was also ..... looking and sent my cheque to her senior for approval. Andha appa tucker (first male I encountered in the bank) found a signature mismatch again and asked me to sign my old signature. Looking at Ms Greatlooking's expression , I felt she had been abased by some one.

me: I had used a similar signature(the one which is a mismatch) while depositing a cheque last month. How were you able to clear it then?? I have a xerox copy of the cheque..'I showed him the copy'..So are the rules different when money comes into your bank??
Mr Appa tucker : Err... That was not me...

I think Ms heard the conversation and I could see a smile in her face.

Finally I withdrew all the money and was about to leave.

Ms was talking to her friend near the door and I left the premises not looking at her.

When I went near the gate , she came out and called my name.

Ms : I am sorry for the inconvenience. Going by the rule book always doesn work with customers and Mr appa tucker doesnt understand that..

me : No problem..

Ms : Happy New year.

me : Happy New year. Bye.

..................*************************************************..................

I dedicate this post to God.

PS..All my mind voices in '...'

Aandavan Aaathma Aanmeegam

Hi forum,

Third post in 12 hours...

I have a work that I need to do urgently but all that can wait..:-P...(Naangalum busy dan....). This post is about an album called 'Aandavan Aathma Aanmeegam'...It's a brilliant hear conceived by Latha Rajnikanth. The prelude is a speech given by Rajnikanth. The album has 10 songs..The music is so inseparable from the situation of the song and lyrics that I was able to experience the joy of the singers and composer.. " Muthai tharu... " is an awesome composition. Its from thiruppugazh. In fact I was so affected by the rendition that I spent the whole of yesterday in learning the lyrics and the meaning and visualizing the scene..It made me so happy that I skipped lunch..Ivlo vishayam Thamizh literature le irukku nu I was awestruck. The composition is in andhaadhi metre which means the next phrase begins with the last syllable of previous phrase.

Actually how I came across this album is also a strange happening. I generally have the habit of chanting 'kandhar shashti kavacham' whenever I travel..Of late I have been missing..Yesterday as soon as I woke up, I started chanting 'Subramanya guru jothi aai unnul thondriduvaan....Vedantha ragasiyam veli aagum unnule...' from 'kandha guru kavacham' spontaneously...I dint mind it much and left to office...In office I was getting bored as I was waiting for my team lead and so started watching some videos in youtube...And again sambandame illama..TMS' Muthai tharu song flashed on the right pane...Thn I searched for 'muthai tharu' and this was the first video.

Other songs I listened are 'Kaithala nirai kani' and Rajni's speech..

The links are.

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12swxohHCxg"
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbQZ01bscbk&feature=related"
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr5-0O7_9mI"

I dedicate this post to God..

Dream come true

Hi forum, (copied from Ray Williamson Johnson :-))

This is my second post today..

As usual I was waiting in the canteen from 4pm for the 5pm shuttle..(Well for the first month at intel I used to take the 730 pm shuttle coz I used to come at 1030am..But with 1 month experience and also some solemn urging by a friend , I decided to 'enjoy my evenings and bangalore weather :-P' and hence decided to take the 5pm shuttle. Morning is always 10.30...If you dont sleep till 8 you are not enjoying bangalore weather..:-P.)..

I left the canteen at 4.55 pm and reached route 16 shuttle by 4.57pm..It started filling up and my shuttle mate sat beside me. He was on a call while boarding the shuttle and continued to be so...Not even the loud tumult of 32 Swaraj Mazda engines coming to life deterred him from hanging up..Seri ivan dan apadi nu suthi paatha , everyone was on a call except me...'Urangiyadhu podhum Phone a edu Srini ' nu mind voice..(From now on all mind voices in '...').

(Time : 5.10 pm)...Eduthen phona..'Kaalayil dhinamum kan vizhithu ennakku call pannum devathai amma'....Immediately called mom.."Indha tholai pesi en tharchamayam ubayogathil iruppadal siridhu neram kazhithu thodarbu kollavum"...This repeated in english and hindi...:-P.. 'Ammakum paatikkum cell phone kuduthadhu thappa pochu..Nxt time 10 Rs ku mela recharge poda koodadhu'...

(Time: 5.15pm)...Nxt I tried my cousin brother in Chennai...But this time the call got connected..Before I could say hello.."Dey naan oru meeting le irukken..Naaliki kooopadren...keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen"...Avan phone a cut pannadhu kooda enakku kashtama ille...but my shuttle mate who had just thn ended his long speech gave a sly smile which sounded...'Enna wrong numbera..Number correcta podu'..

(Time : 5.25pm)...My shuttle mate got a second call and I was in ucccha katta frustration..This time I wanted to be a bit more prudent in my choice. 'Vignesh..Vendaam..Srinath..Vendaam..Ajay...Vendaam.. Size...Ayyayo!!!! Un budhi en ipdi pogudhu...Arun pathi marandhe poche'...Udane called Arun...(Ippo Arun pathi solliye aaganum.....Arun...avvalavum moola..My project mate...Ever green(always available) in my gmail chat list :-P...Naanum evergreen in his chat list..Many a times we say this dialogue ..."Dey namma rendu paer mattum dan innum vettiya irukkom..Romba kaalama naan unkitta mattum dan chat panren and neeyum vice versa"...!!!!)..

"Hi da ..veetliya irukke?? Seri match enna aachu?? Jaychtaangala??.......Bsnl 3g connection epdi irukku....." etc nu poitrundudhu..Avanum edho naan try panrennu nu conversation le involve aanan...Oru maadiri nalla poitrundhudhu and I regained some lost pride..My shuttle mate had completed the call but I was still on line till I got an incoming alert... It was from an unknown number 'Indha Tata Docomo kaarangalukku vera velaye ille..Nerangetta nerathile....'..Konja nerathle rendu perukkum mokka potuchu and we disconnected...

Soon after that amma called and though I dint have the mood to scold her , for duties sake, I scolded her..I dunno why but suddenly out of context she asked me to wake up..Only thn did I realize that I had been dreaming all through and I had really scolded my mom who had called me in the morning..

The day I was dreaming was my first day at intel and all the events that I described happened today..:-)...It was a dream come true..:-)..


I dedicate this post to God...
"

Its exactly 1 year and 1 day since I wrote my previous post..ManiRatnam style :-P (Sila per mind voice enakku ippave kekkudhu...Naan avlo periya appa tucker ille dan.... othukaren!!!!)...Seri romba mokka podaama straighta matterku varen..Indha 1 year le ekkachakamaana experiences... some pleasant.. and others not so pleasant..(Am not going to write an essay on that)...But each of the experiences refined me...Gradually. If the findings were to be expressed with brevity, "Dedication" is the word..Be fully aware of what is being done and dedicate the result to God.

I dedicate this post to God. :-)...

The Flash back...

Present :

Hey guys this is Srini..and at last I am blogging..

(1)Like most of you I am an engineering student..

(2)I am placed in HP in one of its R&D teams..

(3)I also have got an internship at Analog Devices which I am currently undertaking...

This blog is a tribute to my mind which found out that I find solace in writing and story telling...

4 years 7 months 20 days back (Phew!!! thanks to google)...

It was the month of May...Summer in Coimbatore is normally warm but that year it was cool due to frequent rains..It was the day of class 10 public exam results and more importantly the day to decide in which school I wud continue my High School...As usual the day started with my mother waking me up with a splash of cold water at 8:30..
(1)"Vikku go to school and check out the results..I ve got application forms for the 3rd time from Lisieux and I want you to do ur High School there..The boys studying there are very intelligent and I want u to be in their company." I shot back with my usual dialogue "Mom school's not a problem.Knowledge is emanating from all four directions" It was her turn now and she shot back with her usual dialogue and so on..It was 9 and I got a call frm my friend.. "Dey machan u got school 4th da..92% As usual Maggi dan first..guess who's second...Its Sanjeev da...Giri's third...Seri Seri..come to school soon...We ve got exceptional results this time..Every one in first class..So admissions likely to end soon..Natty wants to meet u guys." and he disconnected..Two things wre shocking...
1)Exceptional results - That was once in a dark blue moon stuff in our school since most of the guys wanted to look after their dad's shop and most of the girls....
2)Giri got third - Not as much shocking as the results but never the less shocking to me coz this meant the top 3 ranks wre from Shilpa's class..
In my mind voice ,"Natty's started his canvassing as usual...What happened to Shilpa ?? Ok lets hurry up.."
No matter how much ever i fight with mom i keep no secrets with her and vice versa..In fact I even told her once that I had eaten chicken which I could well ve concealed..On hearing me she was quiet and went to sleep.. The next day she asked me to take her to a shop and stopped at a butcher's on the way.."Wait here ll get some chicken and ask Arifa akka to cook it for you..". Slap!!!I stopped consuming even egg frm then on..
I told about my telephonic conversation to mom and that all the more accelerated her spirits..She was a determined woman..I brush'd and bath'd and dress'd in half hour..Had brunch and set off to school..
I was greeted there by 'my friend'..."Dey maths le nee 196 Science I le 94 Science II le 98..." I wanted to ask how much Shilpa got..
"Maths le 3 centums Maggi, Giri, Shilpa...Science le........" and nothing registered after Shilpa...My mind was in a world of its own..shutting all external accesses...I was half happy and half sad...Happy coz she had done well in wat mattered..Sad coz she was with standing with the maths centum club...and I was left with my yapping friend..

Shilpa was in Tamil section..I was in Hindi..She was in the same section as the top3 of the school..."The geek section"...I was on the other extreme...It was Rajasthan in Coimbatore ,with me and 'my friend' being the only Tam-Brahms...rather Tamil speaking guys..Being in such a class has lots of advantages..

1) U have good looking north indian girls(none like shilpa though).
2) U can get to know atleast 3 slangs of Hindi.
3) U can always escape homeworks coz the whole class doesn't do..
4) U can never miss a PT class coz thats top priority..

Now lets get back to Shilpa...She's a TamBrahm too..So are many others in Geek Section..Tall, fair and all those features that make girls good looking...The things that attracted me the most are
1) She's the captain of the school volley ball team.(that being a TamBrahm is a great feat)
2) As far as my brain cud contemplate she's innocent.

Now back to yapping...my mind was looking out for words starting with the syllable 'Sh'..and there was a hit.."Shilpa said she's gonna take computer science here da."...

Now came the time to make the first big decision of ma life..I had not decided wat I shud do in high school...Mom always wanted me to be a doctor coz she was constantly in the blues or blacks of her health and there were many engineers in my family but no doctors...But with 67% reservation and only around a 1500 seats,it was well out of reach...So the obvious choice was Engineering..Not that the reservation was any less, but the number of seats were nearly 10 folds..Next big question was that of school...It was the most difficult question though there wre only two choices..stay back or move to Lisieux.. When ever I couldnt come to a solution using reasoning, I backed my instincts....This method worked wonderfully well with Chemistry one marks (hit ratio of 9/10)...I decided to use it to determine my school..I cudn reason properly coz some changes external or internal made me half responsible...The real trade off I could reason out was between studies and coping with a new environment. There was Shilpa,Cricket,friends, PT room etc in the back of the mind but the Responsible component took charge..Something inside me said 'change' and I decided that I was gonna change...For the first time in life I felt satisfied for having preserved both mine and mom's interests..

July 3 2004,First day at Lisieux matriculation higher secondary school...The campus is situated at a prime location in the city and is known for its sophistication...If there was a place in Cbe where u could find a car almost in every house, it was the lisieux neighborhood at Sai baba colony named after the famous Naga Sai Baba temple here...

Another thing Sai baba colony is famous for is its coaching centers like Centum, Top rank , State rank etc... Coaching centers make a fortune in Tamil Nadu...The fees in Cbe is around Rs 4000 per subject and most people don't mind it coz in Tamil Nadu,most 12th std students under State Board study for a seat in one of the top 5 institutions in Tamil Nadu (excluding IIT and NIT) viz CEG (Anna University),PSG Tech , MIT (Anna University),GCT Coimbatore and CIT ..The centers are experts in time management as they accommodate 3 batches for class 12 and one each for class 11 and 10 everyday , year after year..The week ends are completely dedicated for tests...The students are so well coached rather trained tht when u give page number, and subject as input to their neural network , the output is the contents of the page accurate to the closest 'is'...But luckily such photocopying stuff reserves only 200 marks on 300 (whenever we speak of reservation theres a 67% !!!!!)and the TNPCEE entrance exams constitute the remaining 33%..This is how engineers are made..rather engineering students are made..