Embodiment of versatility - Chinmayi

Chinamyi is someone who has made full utilization of her god-given-gift (her voice).. Being a trained classical singer, she started off as a playback singer and became popular with songs like "oru deivam thantha", "tere bina", "enadhu uyire" etc..she carved a special place for herself as a singer in tamil cinema.. Her next venture was as a TV anchor in "Airtel Super Singer"..With her smart/confident voice and presence, she succeeded in this role too..Unlike some other TV show hosts who overdo certain things in the process of entertaining the audience, she did a brilliant job....Until recently I didnt know that she was a dubbing artiste too...After that I realised that in movies like satham podadhey(for padmapriya), jilnu oru kadhal(for bhumika), varanam ayiram(for sameera) it was her unique voice for the leading ladies in the movies...
Now I hear that shez a RJ for aaha FM ...Hats off to her !!
More than all this she runs a language translation company named "blue elephant" .. Can u beat that??
Inspite of all these, one can find that she is a regular blogger...she periodically updates her blogspot http://chinmayisripada.blogspot.com
How on earth can someone find so much time to do so many things and that too exceedingly well ?? Everone has just 24hrs of time every day.. what that matters is how one wants to make use of it...
From what little I read/heard about her, seems like her mom is her backbone.. This proves that
"Behind every successful person, there is always someone else behind the scenes !!"

My best friend's wedding

The most awaited function happened in a grand manner last week. Despite the hot sun in sivakasi and chennai, the wedding and reception went on really well. Giri(My friend) dressed perfectly for each occasion. Her muhurtham get-up was the best.. With a simple red cotton saree, long bhindi and the temple jewelry , she looked like a beautiful dancer to me :)
the four of us (Giri, subbu, chiths and me)got together after a long time.. Though Giri was busy, we three had a nice time....While the mangalsutra was tied all our eyes were filled with happy tears.. Waiting for almost two years became fruitful at that moment :)

Her reception in chennai was splendid(closest to the tamizh word "bramandam" )....magnificient hall with a huge stage and flower decorations, giri and params in their best outfits, sumptous dinner, Giri's dad singing with the orchestra, hospitality extended by Giri's parents and above all hundreds of guests......
With so many known faces around: my collegesfriends, mysore friends, giri's relatives, i really didnt have enough time to talk to all poroperly.. (Now am feeling bad that I shud have spent some more time with all)
The function took an informal note with some of us dancing to some fast numbers
Wishing Giri and Params a very happy and successful married life !!

Too much planning is no good use

Many a times when I plan too much in advance, I end up in a mess.. Today my friend Chithu had come home. She had told me very much in advance that she wud be coming here. So I had planned well ahead, took sometime and bought nice pink kurti for her. This was almost 2 weeks.
Know what?? I completely forgot to give it to her :( I realised it only when she was abt to board the train in Thane Station)...Am getting really very absent-minded these days ..Need to work on it !!
However had a great time with her today :)

IITs – destiny for a few more: Thats what we think!

The dream destination for the studious “junta” has expanded a bit more from around 3000 seats to almost 7500 seats, over the last decade. Considering the fact that the total number of candidates have also increased, the probablity to get through has not increased after all. So it isn't so much of a good news for this year's batch..
How I wish they had done this 9 years before way back in 2000. Those days(its almost a decade now) we had two levels of screening. After the first level there would be 15000 left for the second level. Out of which around 3000+ would get an admission in one of the IITs. If they had 7000+ seats then, maybe I would have managed a spot amongst the last few seats...It wouldn't have done any good anyways. Except that I would have proudly said “I got an admission into the IITs, but I chose to reject the same” …Too Much!!!!

Speak out and Sort it Out

Life partner, as is rightly termed, is someone with whom you should be able to share any emotion/thought/problem openly without any cover up.This one particular aspect lays a strong foundation in any relationship (more importantly in a husband-wife relationship)
This is easier to practice between people who have similar mind-sets('cos they can relate to the other person's feelings quite well) . This is also quite easy for people who are extroverts who in general can openly express their thoughts to anyone. However by whomsoever it is practised it works wonders
It develops a comfort zone between the two in such a way that after you speak your mind out to your partner, any great problem/obstacle seems smaller and you come to a state of equanimity to sort it out fairly wisely.

Baby Talk - Mazhalai

There are almost 7000 living languages with many dialects in each language.It is interesting to note that, in each language there are certain words that are specially designed by/for kids. Probably these are used thinking that it would be easier for the kids to pronounce the same. However, each kid is creative enough to use new words as he/she feels and these words become a part of the vocab in the kid’s home.
There are certain words/phrases that grown-ups use when talking to kids. Some words that are used in Tamil house-hold (mostly TamBrahm house holds) where there are kids.
“Ummachi” – God
“adi kuzhambu aana pola” – the final mouth of food
“mum mum” – food in general
“thachi mum mum” – Curd rice
“Ta ta polama?“ –shall we go out ?
“thachiko” – go to sleep
“okachiko” – sit down
These are some common words… Apart from these, every word is pronounced by the kid at his/her own will. This is called “mazhalai” in tamizh .(I think its “baby talk” or “babble” in English.)
It is sometimes funny and sometimes cute to see grown-ups talking to the kids in this baby language...
Gradually as the kid grows up the language shifts from "baby-talk" to the so called grown-up-talk ...................

Cousin cum cousin's wife :)

My cousin (R) who lives in Madison, WI is leaving tonight back to US.. Oh do I call her my cousin or my cousin's wife ?? :) I would prefer to call her my sister, instead..
She had come down to India with the main purpose of attending my wedding.. Really sweet of her!!
Ofcourse her other purpose of visit is to lose several kilos of weight..hahaha!!
Jokes Apart, These days when ppl are busy with their lives, travelling across countries with a small kid without her hubby around is a rarity.. she didn't bother about all that .. She made it a point to be here the very day i told her about my wedding .. Thanks a Ton R!!
We both have shared an emotional bond always .. we can go on and on over phone about some topic or other.. These days we seldom get to meet each other.. however we make the full usage of emails, chats and phone calls ..
Wishing her bon vogaye and all bst wishes to stay happily with her sweet daughter and Husband ..
Cousin

Food is Ready !!

These days, I return from work mostly by 6:30pm... My husband (S)comes home earliest by 7:30 not before.. I somehow enjoy this time alone at home .. I have a cup of tea, read the newspaper, surf the tv channels, check out some new recipes.. I plan to finish my cooking and set the table before S is in. its a great a feeling to finish all ur activities by 8-8:30pm ..and have a peaceful dnner and relax
On the other day, I was late ..reached home only by 9(S had reached by then ).. i was tired, irritated and was thinking"what-to-cook?"...To my surpise, S had made dinner ready .. Immediately my mood changed ..the dinner was awesome .. yummy semiya upma :)

An Award Everyday !!

These days, A R Rehman is receiving one award or the other everyday.. All of a sudden , the whole world has decided to honor this music genius.. As most of the Indians know, he has been creating a new era of music since "ROJA" times...However "Slumdog Millionaire" has been the immediate cause for his world-wide acceptance..

It was great to see his mom and sis receive the "CNN IBN indian of the year" award on his behalf .. Such is a moment that any mom or sis would treasure forever... Both of them looked like typical tamil nadu citizens, not a bit changed by their son's/brother's celebrity status.. It feels great to see such people, who donot get so much carried away by the celebrity status..

Looks like AR will be winning one/more Oscars this year.. Lets all hope and pray that this Indian wins it , because he deserves it the most !!

Ethanai kodi inbam

This album of bombay jayshree is truly soul-stirring,.. One album that I can listen to, whatever mood i may be in ..It boosts my spirits when I am feeling a bit low.. When at work, it also helps me concentrate on a particular thing
every song in this album is a gem in its own kind :
agni kunju
mazhai kalam
thikkugal ettum sidhari
uyire
kaakai chiraginilae
mannum
ethanai kodi
nalladhor veenai
suttum vizhi
varuvai kanna
manadhil urudhu vendum
pozhudhu
ninnai charan adaindhen

The album as a whole is a treat to listen to.. The lyrics by bharathiyar are beautiful .. its about the forces of nature.....
Just close ur eyes and listen to these songs and jayshri's mesmirising voice will take your own dream world.....
(Though I have heard these songs some years before, it was during my visit to US that my friend Anty had given this to me .. Thanks to him!!)
Some of these songs are my personal favourites for various reasons..

thikkugal ettum sidhari - This song was the opening song in our REC festember 2001 culturals..2001 was the first time our college was selected in for the group-dance finals and it was my first big-stage performance. Moreover, the choreogrpahy for this song was almost entirely mine..
ethanai kodi inbam - this was the finale song of our dance... The dance theme was "identity crisis". The main lead in the dance-drama realizes that her identity is lost and is in the center stage with this song being played..

Uyire - is my personal fav.. bombay jayshree at her best.. I have always wanted to sing this one as good as her..To be frank not even 1% of it I have been able to acheive..

kaakai chiraginilae - reminds me of my first-ever paatu class in chennai,, i used to sing this song on gokulashtami..

suttum vizhi - this one was sung by shyam when we first met in coimbatore. he sings it so well..The way he sings it quite different from the way Bj does.. still I prefer his version a bit more than jayshree's :)

manadhil urudhi vendum - this gives lot of postive energy.. This song in the movie sindhu bhairavi is a master piece

Burn it up !!

Since last week, my work out schedule has been good. Touch wood!!
I am managing a 30-min work out before lunch.. post-marriage i have gained several kilos :).. so high time i did something about it !!

I am loving it, cos it helps me stay active and energetic.. I get the feeling of taking care of myself after the session..

With my mp3 player playing some fast numbers, running on the tread mill and cycling gets a lot easier and enjoyable too..

I dont know if it helps me lose weight, cos my diet is still very erratic. (yesterday i had a Gujarati Thali at Rajdhani ..it was yummy yummy!!)..I can't kill my taste buds and starve , just to lose some calories :)

My sweet bro

"You are really lucky to have a bro like Arun" , Shyam told me the other day ..
Thats really true.. He has always been there for me when I needed his support.. He is a very cool headed, matured and caring person.. During my wedding, he was the great moral support for my parents. He managed the show really well .. One thing that touched me the most was this..
I fell ill a couple of days before the wedding .. You wont believe, even while sleeping he would get up once every half and hour and check if my fever subsided ... I am really blessed to have a bro like this .. I am very proud of you .. I wish and pray that he has a very successful life ahead

Smile therapy

If you are working on anger-control, thene herez a tip for you..
Ask someone who stays with you to give a hearty, cute smile when u get angry .. U will be surprised to know that your anger will subside the same way as boiling milk will when u switch off the gas stove....
This is what my husband does when i get a short fuse.. This therapy makes ur anger short lived..

My daddy strongest !!

My dad's one particular quality , for which i am ever indebted to him is that " He always wants the best for arun, amma and me ".. This is something he can never compromise!!
One when we were at vijaywada , I had given my dress for stitching to a tailor ,, When I got it back we realised that it one of the fabric with exchanged with someone else's .. Then we went to return it to the tailor but he refused to accept the mistake.. We argued for a while , then getting convinced that we were fooled we came back .. However my dad couldn't leave it that.. Next day he visited the tailor shop along with the police. The tailor admitted the mistake, stitched a new dress for me :)

My mom's the best

Nowadays I call up my mom while having lunch and we speak for around 20-40 mins ..Mostly about whats happening at our ends .. We chat/gossip for a while about whats going on at our relatives' end .. about friends .. she tells me some recipes to try out ,,she asks me about shyam .. Today I was telling her that Shyam made breakfast today,,,she was more than happy intially ..Then she tells me not to make it a habit and expect him to do it everyday.. I didnt agree to her completely, still i kept quiet and just said ok ..
My mom is very innocently sweet at times ..Whenever she gets upset with someone , she tells me how she was hurt by the other person's reaction. Then she very sportively analayses the mistakes at her end and decides not to commit them again .. Very sweet !! Today she tells me that she gets into such small fights because of her impulsive talks ..Itseems she wants to be like me calm and composed :)
I agree that sometimes her impulsive reactions are not favourable ..but her spontaneous talk is what that makes her so cute, honest and special ..
Love u amma !!

Diversified interests

Over the years, there is one observation that I have made about myself ...
The power of concentrating on one particular thing has gradually reduced over the years ..
When in school this concentration power was at its peak .. then slowly it dwindled ..
During my college days , there was not a single, constructive activity that I used to do alone .. Be it studying, my dance rehearsals, singing or anything for that matter there were always people around me, so the power of focus was still on..
Probabaly because I got used to doing things as a group i lost this power when I ventured to do anything alone..
After I came to work, the first year was pretty good.. I used to define my activities clearly and since I found my work very challenging , I stayed quite focused. From the next year onwards, I noticed that I was getting slow at work .. so I started jotting down the activity plan everyday.. This didnt help much. firstly, I would spend most of the time making plan and verifying if I am on track, than doing the work .. Secondly the no. of activities would be so much that I would multi-task many things and not do anything concrete,..
While at work, i would start googling about dance themes, dancers in india, music , movies, swimming classes, keyboard classes, tennis classes, books, lyrics of fav songs, listen to music, english word meanings to name a few.... then would go for long tea breaks, lunch breaks; check my attendance, m,y payslip, my old archived mails, read other's blog, mail to friends/cousins, csee photos.videos etc.. so i would get totally get distracted from the main stream work and end up staying late
One more thing that i have started doing very often these days is think about the past .. about my college life, life at mysore, life at blore, life at US , my previous assignments at work, my wedding, honeymoon, life in mumbai etc etc..
My thoughts are more on past and less on future/present ... Even if I think about future, I get some negative thoughts ,, something that I hate,,
Somehow these symtoms seem to indicate that am growing old .. I have always wanted to have a young mind though..
Dancing is one exception to this case. during my dance rehearsals i stay very focused .. i forget everything else. i guess i should be doing more of dancing to alleviate this growing-old-syndrome....