Mozhi - Movie Review

Director Radha Mohan's yet another "DECENT" venture is slowly turning out to be a hit. Maybe it's because it's Jothika's last movie. Or because she doesn't speak a word in this and her usual overacting has suited well for the character. But I must say, Jo has remarkably reduced her overacting in her recent films. Maybe she exhausted all of that in Chandramukhi. But kudos to Radha Mohan for providing movies suitable to be viewed by the entire family(together). In all his movies(two), he uses not more than ten characters totally and not more than 4 main characters. No vulgarity, no double entendres, not even a kuthu song. But his hits have proved that there are people waiting for more such movies. Why don't directors realise this and capitalise on this? Cos' such movies don't cost much to make and will surely get more money than they put in. At this point I should definitely appreciate producer Prakash Raj (or his luck). How does he manage to get such small budget movies with high returns and a good story?


After the movie(or even during the movie), I felt what a great life it would be to marry a deaf and dumb girl?
Eternal Silence....
Bliss...
(music: chorus - What a wonderful Life)...
There s a saying which goes-
"The first year of marriage the husband speaks and the wife listens
The second year, the wife speaks and the husband listens
From then on both of them speak and the neighbours listen"
There will not be such a condition with a deaf and dumb wife. And if she's as beautiful as Jo, what's there to complain. She ll be a good daughter-in-law. Your mom won't have the heart to complain anything about her to you. Even if she says anything your wife can't hear her to react in any way. There won't be any verbal fights noisy enough to wake your child. There ll be more love between you and your wife. She ll love you for loving her inspite of her problem. You ll love her more for because of her problem. One great mind (my brother) has said, "You like people for their goodness. You love them for their deficiencies." Whenever you're away from someone, what makes you miss them is not their good qualities but their bad ones. "He used to keep touching my hair which made me angry. Gosh how I miss him now." "She would always forget to put sugar in my coffee. Now I remember her whenever I don't get coffee. :-("...... Ya coming back to the advantages. You can have your privacy while speaking to each other in public. No one ll understand your language. People will start looking at you differently, as if you have done some wonderful deed. So many advantages. What's the only disadvantage? You need to learn sign language. Big deal. I'm ready.

Income Taxing!!!

The latest Ad doing the rounds now is the Income Tax campaign. "Pay your taxes. Then only your family will be happy." Oooooh.... I 'm afraid. I mean come on.... The guy refuses to pay tax first. Then looks at his family photo and sees them glum and then accepts to pay the tax. What crap? I think the IT Advertising Managers should get some help from the Pulli Raja campaign managers. "Pulli Rajakku Raids varuma"... one month with that. Then two peolpe in a bar talking about how only Big B, Ash etc will be pardoned for not paying taxes and normal people like Pulli Raja will escape only if they pay their taxes properly. That would make a "better" campaign than the bullsit that they are trying now.

In another Ad, a lady stands before the India Gate and literally begs us to pay our taxes. "More than 99% of your tax goes to the development of education, health etc. in our country. So take part in India's development." Nice try! Just ten days back there was an article in the newspaper, which said that the officials in a General Hospital in UP "stumbled" across a room full of medicines stocked 4 years back. They were estimated to be more than one crore rupees. Then further investigation led to the revelation of the fact that certain officials in the GH involved in buying and distribution of the medicines to the patients, would order for the medicines from private companies and give it back to them and would buy the same from them again and so on. And in another article it said, in a jail in Bihar, the Jail officials were helping the criminals inside with facilities like mobile phones, televisions, better foods etc. During a sudden investigation of the jail by higher officials, a fight broke out between the police and the criminals inside, in which the jail officials fought for the criminals against the police. Seeing all these articles my father said, "Look at where our country's headed?" with a irritated look on his face. But I said, "A few days back too these things were happening. Just that we didn't know about it. Now our country's headed to a point where these things have started coming out to the public's notice. Feel proud."

Inspite of all these, IT(Income Tax) guys: Please don't expect people to change their attitude seeing that your Ads. It's pathetic. Or if that's what you want... you want people to feel sorry for you and pay their taxes. Maybe it's working.

Yay!!! India qualified for the super 16!!!

"10th 12th standard pasangaloda future nalla irukkanum. Avanga examku olunga padikkanum. Adharkaagave naangal Super 8 roundkku poga povathillai", endru India cricket aniyin captain Rahul Dravid kodutha urukkamana paettiyai thodarndhu avargalin abaramana tholviyai kandu India makkal anaivarum avargalukkaaga sirandha murayil irudhi sadangugalai munne ninru nadathivaithanar.

Itharkidaye, Pakistan aniyin captainaana Inzamam idam, India coach Greg Chappell, "Ennapa ungal coach irandhu vittaarame", endru kettadharkku, "Aamam, avar manasthan", endru badhilalitha Inzamamai kandithu Chappell thodutha vazhakkil, "Eppidi Indian teamkku coacha irukkum ennidam Maanathai patri avar paesalam" endru kovathudan pongi ezhundhar Greg.

India muzhuvathum nadathiya karuththaaivil, Indiavin tholviyaal peridhum badhikka pattavargal kudumbathalaivigal endra thidikidum unmai theriyavandhullathu. Kanavargal tholaikatchiyil 24 mani neram cricket parthukondirukka, naangu varudarthirkku oru murai kidaikkum intha irandu maatha kanavan-illa-vidumuraiyil, yoga class, dance class, marudhani class, tanjore painting class mattrum palveru classgalil kasukoduthu serndhulla pengal, "Itharkku badhilaga oru pattu pudavaiye vangiruppen" endru pulambugirargal. "Afternoon boyfriend, evening husbandnu busy poikkitrukkara en vazhkayil, etho rendu maasam time kadachirukkennu samayal class aasaya serndha, andha aasai tendulkar wicketoda fasta parandh pochey..." endru kumurugirar Saroja.

Ithai patri Sivaraj ennum sidharidam kettatharku, "India valibargal ellorum miga thiramai vaindhavargal. Yendhan ippadi seeralindhupogirargal endru theriyavillai. Ilamaiyileye ellorukkum chance kidaikkavendum. Iruvathu vayathil aadamal, aruvathil aadi enna payan?" endru, single meaningil badhil sonnar. Vasthu nibunar Thiru. Pavadai Samiyar sonnathin padi, "India veerargal, vasthu padi wicketukku munbu nirpadhu thavaru. Avargal wicketukku pinnadi ninru adiyirundhale innum konjam neram angu irunthirukkakoodum" endru karuthu therivithar.

Bharatiya Janata Katchiyin MPyana Thiru.L.K.Advani India tholvikku maraindha munnal pradhamar, Indira Gandhi ye karanam endru kuttramchaata, eppadi endru kettadharku, "Avar than Bagladesh ai uruvakkinar. Andru athai seyyamal irundhirundhal, indru India tholvi adaindhirukkadhu" endru anal parakka badhilalithar.

Bermuda aniyin irettai tholviyai thodarndhu, annaattu makkal aniyin captainaana Irving Romaine ai, gouravamaaga padhavi irakkam seiyyacholli kettadharkku," En contract world cup varayilthan. Piragu naan en kula thozhillaana ganja virpanaikke sendru vidugiren. Ennai vittu vidungal" endru kathari azha, adutha captainaaga Leverock ai thernthedukka BCCI (Bermuda Cricket Council International) mudivu seithulla nilayil, Sehwag, Tendulkar, Dravid, Yuvraj mattrum palar, "Naangal Bermuda aniyil serndhu vidugirom. Engalukku engal naattu makkalidamirundhu padhugaappu thandhal podhum", endru kettadhai, BCCI maruthadhaaga angulla engalin special correspondent therivithar.

Tharpodhaya thagaval padi, India Pakistan anigal kilambiya vimaanam nilaithadumariyadhan karanathai kettatharkku, pilot alitha badhilin padi vimanathil ulla India Pakistan anigal jannal-orathu-seatukkaga sandai pottu kondirukkaargal endru theriyavandhulladhu. Athanal vidaiperuvadharkku munbu yella Indiargalidamum naangal kettukolvathu enna vendral, " Thayavu seidhu India anikku jannal-orathu-seat kidaikkumaaru kadavul idam prarthanai seiyungal."

Ippadikku,

Vidiya-Vidiya-Match-Paarthu-Seeralinthor Sangam

Secret of Failure

Karthyek: You know what's the reason our project isn't working
Murali: What?
Karhtyek: We always keep criticising each other and try to put the blame on one another.
Me: Yeah da! Why don't you two stop doing that?

Hoo Ha India Haaya India

It was proud to see Sehwag removing his helmet for a fifty after sixty matches of glory.(oh yeah... this was his first fifty in sixty matches) that too against a truly formidable adversary. He definitely deserves to be appreciated for managing to find the gaps especially with Leverock(my favourite bermuda player) covering the entire ground (for which he didnt have to move much).

The news item in NDTV "How much the Indian advertisers would lose if India doesn't qualify to the super 8?", left me wondering. Consider a 10 sec slot during a match. If it was India playing, the rate would be 8 to 10 lakhs as opposed to 1 or 2 lakhs for any other team. A match running for 6 hours with at least 30 slots per hour, would make 16 crores more per match if it was by India. Which gives 80 crores if India played at least 5 more matches. With promotion campaigns, cheering up, cricket based movies, albums, sms competitions, chance to have a date with cricketers, sms polls, guess games, bets the amount goes to hundreds of crores. India has THE LARGEST home audience for any product based ad to be targetted at. With Sri Lanka's determination to thwart us when we are in our "peak" and not play easy just so that we have a chance to go to the super 8, my advice to these advertisers would be "Please go and pay a part of this money to Sri Lankans or for that matter anyone playing against India in the future, asking them to...." (Well.... you get the idea).

Arguments With my Brother- Part 1: cse or ECE!!!

March 3rd 10:00 pm-

Me: ECE is the most interesting subject in engineering! There s nothing more in CSE than just programming. First C, then C++, then JAVA, then COBOL, ALGOL, HTML, algorithms, operating systems.

Bro: What a load of crap? What do you know about CSE. There is no other subject in this world which has had so much impact on all other fields in this world like the computer. Just think.. just with those things you said you can do anything you want in this world. From medicine to satellite launching.

Me: But everything you said is electronics. Satellite has microprocessors, which are electronic chips!!! Not computer. In fact computer itself is made of electronic components. You must learn to give it its due credit.

Bro: In that case, electronics comes from silicon and germanium, so you must accept chemical engineering is your father and give that its due credit.

Me: Point well taken. But everything you do is confined to one box. It's applications are limited. Everything else in our house other than a computer is made of electronics. TV, Fridge, Radio, microwave, iPod, telephone. It has infinite applications.

Bro: But think, a computer confined to a just a box has soooo many applications by itself. You can watch movie, play games, listen to music. You can't go to the internet without a computer.

Me: No! You can watch movies in TV, CD player. Internet in mobile phoes. There's nothing without communication. A computer is of no use without the concepts of networking, which comes from communication. And it is electronic circuits which are required to control and master the communication systems, filters, receivers, modulators, demodulators, amplifiers.

Bro: But only the advent of computers has sped up the developments in any field. Today you are able to see the gentic structures, modify them to our requirements which was not possible few years back. Artificial Intelligence concept is possible only with computers and programming.

Me: But robotics is a branch of electronics. There s no robot with just a program. You need electronic circuits to process the output from the robots sensors.

Bro: There are such complex and interesting concepts in cse too. It is not as easy as you think.

Me: No way! Electronics has much more interesting concepts. How any signal can be thought of as sums of sines and cosines of various amplitudes, how this has simplified our mastery of signals and processing. Only a communication engineer as the eye to view em waves throughout the spectrum and not just the visible range. Every point in the world contains information about every other point. How are you able to pick up your mobile and listen to radiomirchi where ever you are?

Bro: Don't have the wrong idea that cse is just programming. There are concepts in it which can be applied in any field. Even I have studied your electronic circuits. Nothing great. There s so much development in the field of computers everyday. If you draw the graph of human development with tim, there s a small rise after industrial revolution, a bigger rise after electronics came, but a peak tending to infinity since the computers were invented.

Me: That was possible ony after the rise in electronics. There s no discontinuity I guess. I still say electronics is also a developing field. But most of its concepts have been developed and there is liitle left to develop for which one must dedicate his entire life and no one s prepared for that, especially since mastery of the existing concepts itself is difficult.

Bro: That's where you are basically wrong. Even computer science has VERY difficult concepts, even mechanical has, even civil has. Every department has its share of difficult concepts.

Me: A few years back, the toppers used to select cse. Now they select ECE and the next set of students select cse. They don't find it any more difficult than you did. My point is, anyone can study cse with ease (even in computer classes) as long as they don't feel bored.

Bro: What they teach in computer classes is job-oriented da. CS Engineering has much more to it.

Me: Please don't call it Engineering.

Bro: What? We are the architects of the Virtual world. This is the Digital Age and....

Me: Aaha. Digital... another concept well stolen from electronics.

Bro: Poda venna. Every field has its own set of courses which are enough to form a separate branch of engineering. And each is difficult in its own sense.

AND THE ARGUMENT WENT ON TILL 4th March 1:00 am.

Does God exist?

I was travelling by bus from college one day when the lady near me asked if the bus would stop at the Thiruvanmiyur bus stand or at the Marundeeswarar temple. I said Marundeeswarar temple. After a few seconds, the man next to me asked, "Marundeeswarar a? Anga enna Easwarar Marundhu viththara?" I replied matter-of-factly, " Illa avar Marundhukkaana Easwarar" and turned away, ignoring him. I had very little idea that I had started a very useless discussion with a total stranger who had resolved to try and make me an atheist before I got down. He had little idea that I wouldn't let him do so. He went on and on about what bakwas this whole God thing is, people would do good if they didn't believe him, why this "God" helped some people and not others and the usual bits that atheist talk. I went on and on about God is a way of making people have some fear not to stray from their path of Dharma and following the ways of life dictated by a religion would not kill one and our ancestors were not fools and they must have had some meaning in their words and usual bits that believers talk. I tried maximum to avoid His Ignorance and when my stop had come and he felt he was gonna lose, he started shouting to me till I got down from the bus and it left.

All this aside, Does God Really exist? The great poet Kannadasan, in his book "Arthamulla Hindu Madham" has put forward a wonderful argument. He says, a man does not require any brain to be an atheist. Anyone can say anything doen't exists as long as it cannot be proved. You don't need sixth sense for that.He can blame all his failures on his actions. He can be carefree that no one is there to question him. He can say what happens, how it happens but not so much as why it happens the way it happens. At the most he ll blame it on nature and will not be able to explain this "nature". Where as a believer needs not only to have a thorough understanding of what he does and why he does it, but also enough arguments to convince an atheist as to why he does it. Of course, the philosophies of the religion don't expect you to convert an atheist into a believer. But in this age of westernisation and the so-called "scientific" thinking, you cannot survive if you cannot substantiate. A believer must understand why he applies the Thiruneer or kumkumam(to keep his mind calm cool and focussed. Wet ash is found to have those properties) , why he rotates the temple in clockwise and not anti-clockwise ( Most our temples have been built facing the east and when we rotate clockwise we go along the earth's magnetic field and not opposing it, which is good for our body) etc.

A man's failures can be attributed to his deeds 25% of the time and the rest to wat one can call fate. If a job-applicant misses the bus to an interview, it is not in his hands. If he starts blaming it on himself (Of course he could have started early which is his contribution of 25%), he will feel more miserable. Instead if he has something called fate on which he can blame it, and feel that God would show him another way and maybe all would turn out well in the end, it gives him a sort of confidence and courage to still face life. Fate may be a figment of one's imagination but if there's something good that one can gain from it, so what if it is? There is something called a 90-10 principle. A man's day is decided 10% by what happens to him and 90% on how he reacts to it. A daughter pours coffee accidentally on her father's shirt. He can either choose to shout at her or say "it's ok" and change his shirt and go on with his day. In the former case his day starts with a bad mood, then he goes to his office, feels guilty about shouting at his daughter, not responds properly to his boss, has a bad day in office, returns home, has a difficult time talking to his daughter... well you get the idea. And you know what ll happen if he does the latter. So what makes one react to things differently? They used to say "Vithi avan thalaila vilaydirkku." You would have noticed yourself, some people reacting differently to the same things at different times. I don't know how to explain that beyond a point.


Born as a human being, and bestowed with a sixth sense, why do we refuse to extend our thoughts a little and wonder if this God IS really true especially since more than half of the people believe there is one, in some form or the other and since all of us are not able to explain all the things happening around us, what if there IS some supernatural power beyond our comprehension. How much thought and research has an atheist put in to claim that there is no God. How much of religious literature do you think he would have read, and with how much of mental maturity to accept our ancestors line of thought, and then still claim he is not convinced. If there are such atheists, this is not for them. For I appreciate their strong opinion. Of course, even I haven't done all those. But at least I don't blindly refuse anything. I leave way for the possibilty and if I don't have the time to research, I accept what elders say since they have not had any problems believing what they did. IT DOES NOT REQUIRE ANY BRAIN TO SAY THAT GOD DOESN'T EXIST BECAUSE I CANNOT SEE HIM OR THAT HE DID NOT HELP ME IN MY LIFE. (For that is not his job).

Whatever said and done, there is one thing I would like to tell all atheists. Imagine there s a locked room with a treasure inside(or not. Just suppose there is). There is no way of opening the room and finding out if it IS there. I believe it is there, and you say it is not since you cannot prove it. Why don't we leave it at that? Why do you try so hard to make everyone say there s no treasure inside the room? How is the existence of the treasure going to affect our daily life? I feel saitisfied to believe that there is a treasure and I am right. What if some day, by some means, the door can be opened and the treasure DOES really exist. Of course if does not exist, I will start feeling bad only from that day onwards. Till then I would happily lead my life, thinking that if ANYTHING happens to me there s a room full of treasure to help me and hoping that there is definitley a way to open the door. It gives me some confidence and a sense of back-up and I m forced to exercise my brain and put my mind to "more" use (than the atheist) in trying to reach that treasure and prove that I m right instead of letting my mind rot on the otherwise useless pursuits of life. Because I m sure there is nothing in this world that would give me eternal happiness as the treasure would.

In Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams wonderfully lets God himself prove that he doesn't exist. It is a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mindbogglingly intricate as nature could have evolved by purely chance. The argument goes something like this: "I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith and without faith I am nothing." "But," says Man,"the Nature is a dead giveaway isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED." "Oh dear," says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic. The crux that one has to understand is, It is absurd to try and prove that He exists. For the basis of His existence is faith.

Return Of The Jedi

Hi....... I ve finally decided to start spending "more" time on blogging from now. Fans who had been checking out the site everyday expecting new posts- Thank you for your support and sorry for the delay. Others- I ve got nothing to say to you because you don't exist.