I am back....with a travelogue

KOLLI MALAI
Hi,Welcome back to my blog.It has been few months since I blogged a single word and here i am back with something interesting this time.It is about Kolli malai or Kolli hills where I happened to visit few days back.Kolli malai is situated in the district of NAMAKKAL which is the adjacent district to Salem.
My parents and I set off from Chennai around 7 30 am via the Chennai Bangalore Express
Highway.Thanks to our Ex Prime Minister Mr.A.B.Vajpayee, who had initiated with a vision of constructing proper highways for our country,called Golden Quadrilateral, which the current Governments are trying to finish up .I could reach Krishnagiri within 3 and a half hours and from there the shift to the traditional!!! Indian highways via Salem till Senthamangalam was really challenging and troublesome which just has one lane for us and one for oncoming traffic respectively,.
You would be giving credit to it if you call it BAD.Many places have no surfacing at all and even those places which have surfacing have huge pot holes(barrel holes if you could call them.;)).The consoling factor was that the Golden Quadrilateral was being extended or connected till Salem by acquiring lands and demolishing illegal encumberances and occupancies on the way.In another year or so the Salem - Bangalore connection should be over.The lorry and the bus drivers are so inconsiderate.They overtake at all wrong places possible without caring a bit for the oncoming vehicles or drivers.I really wonder what the highway patrol police do and also wonder what happens to the exorbitantly high toll amounts that they collect.Nevertheless,that is Indian traffic system for you and even in four laned highway the people who travel on the wrong side are really the ones who have devilish mentalities I suppose because they have no clue how big an accident could occur because of their sheer selfishness.

Coming back to my travel,I had reached the foothills of Kolli hills around 1 30 pm via Salem Rasipuram and Senthamangalam.The journey up hill was not very tough for me probably because of my driving experience and confidence.Lots of people were scaring me about the huge number of hairpin bends along that path.Officially there are 70 hairpin bends and unofficially there might be 70 more but I didnt find it very tough after having driven up till Munnar where there are no railings even for steep and dangerously deep places.(TN Goverment is better in such things although I have nothing personally against Kerala
overnance).I was shocked to see that the names of hairpin bends had been changed to just
numbers.Previously they had names of Tamil poets like Valluvar,Elango,Bharathi,Avvaiyaar and also the names of Tamil Kings and Kadai Ezhu Vallalgal(7 Generous kings like
Adiyaman,Kaari,Paari,Oari,Aayi,Aari etc).Probably the change has been done in order to rename all of them after currentday local politicians...who knows....

It took an hour and a half for me to reach Semmedu which is supposed to be the biggest town uphill and that is where the hotels and Government guest houses have been built.This place also has the statue of King Val vil Oari who ruled this area in ancient times.But we headed straight to Arappaleeshwarar Temple ,an ancient temple of Lord Shiva and had a great and satisfying darshan there took a very narrow and scary jungle route to Kollippaavai(also called as Ettukkai Amman) temple,a local deity whose name has been given to the hills.It was again a dangerous walk inside the jungle along a rough path but after reaching the temple we felt so divinely ecstatic and heavenly.Along the path there were deities such as
Karuppanna Saami etc.The preist had just left as it was a sunday and he had no expectations of visitors around sun set time.My mom really enjoyed the temple visit despite her arthritis problems and the struggle she had in climibing up and down the rough jungle paths.Then we drove down to Semmedu again.
The Government guest house was denied to us because it was supposed to be given to the relatives of some local politicians that day (Arasiyalla Idhellaam Sagajamappaaa......),so we had to stay at a private hotel which boasted off as Nakshtra Vidudhi(Star hotel).As far as I could see only sky had stars that night.For the amount they charged there was no faclities in the room.It had indian style toilet, dirty floors and walls and a small portable TV which was tuned to only one Channel (ie) the one owned by the political party the hotel's owner belonged to .This was really shocking to us.The owner probably, was showing his loyalty to the political party this way I suppose. However,we hit the sac earlier than usual.

The next morning we drove to various places .Firstly that day we had drove down uphill to
Seekkuppaarai (Suicide point) which was 3kms from Semmedu from where I saw the greatest view till date.It has a semi circle view which is absent even in Ooty ,Kodaikanal or Yercaud.After that we drove downhill ,crossed Semmedu again and went into Herbal forest from where herbs are collected for Siddha medicinal remedies.I was told that in ancient days Siddhars used to collect herbs from there.I then drove down further downhill towards Soalakkaadu (9 km from Semmedu)view point which was too misty.Nevertheless the view was awesome.
Our next destination was Vaasaloor patti boating house,an artificial lake and a boating place which has been constructed for tourists.It was 4 kms uphill from Semmedu.The place was awesome but the boat was too badly designed .It was a boat probably designed for Amitabh Bacchan,Raghuvaran,Napoleon or Satyaraj.The pedal was not reachable even for me who is taller than average.My dad had got low back pain trying hard to reach out to the pedal.On our way we saw horticultural farm and headed towards the hotel where we stayed.Accidentally I met my friend and film director XYZ(prefer to keep it concealed) who
is staying there along with his team of assistants,for script discussion of his next film script.I have sung great songs in his movies and hope to sing in his projects in future as well.
We packed up and left back to Chennai and reached the same day.It was a memorable trip.Kolli malai is an awesome place but if developed infrastructurally without damaging the specialities and uniqueness of the place.,it can be a tough compeition for Yercaud as far as tourism is concerned.

Cricket and Politics ....

Sad State of Affairs
The confusion always persists in my mind whether to enjoy the game or believe in what people say if the matches are all fixed etc etc nevertheless I was a cricketer myself(used to play middle order bat and a leg spinner) during school days. The demi God status cricketers enjoy and the pots of dough that flows in have really made the people who are involved in the game crazy specially the ones who are behind the game such as organisers,selectors,members of cricket boards and clubs.I have heard so much about the politics and the cut throat competions in the game which is as good as the politics in my field viz Film Industry.But it really hit me when I had to witness it myself and especially when someone from our own family has become a victim to the merciless,ruthless politics in the game.

Recently there was a state selection process to select good talents for the state of Tamilnadu in which one of my nephews had taken active part.Time and again the 14 and a half year old guy has been proving his excellence and talent by his flawless batting and useful bowling and he has been treasuring the newspaper cuttings and reviews that vouch for his promise and talent.This time there was a huge camp organised for this purpose and he too,took part with immense interest and expectation.His game again was amazing and he was in great form as well and he really won the appreciations for his style,power and intelligent game.There was a selection match after the initial level of filtering people in which he was selected too.This guy was the top scorer in the two day test match and the newspapers brought that out too the very next day.His parents,friends,coach and all others were more than just sure about him being a part of the selected lot and were sure that no recommendations from ministers or MLA's or MP's or Counsillor's or ward members or cardholders of any political party was required as the guy had proven his worth himself....

Then came the most shocking news.All the aforementioned people's assumptions and beliefs had gone topsy turvy...His name was not even in the city level and much to the surprise people who had scored lesser than 10 runs were in the selected list.The guy was shattered beyond words and it took so many days to console him about the harsh realities of life..... People who read my blog might think that I am provoked and disturbed only because this attrocity that has taken place to my nephew but the fact is there are lots and lots of such people who have been overshadowed and engulfed in the politics of the game who might have become another Sachin ,Rahul,Saurav or Yuvaraj...Politics from the grassroot level is eating up the game ....

Despite all this initial slaughtering, the guy still loves the game more than anything,continues his net practices,fitness exercises and enjoying our Indian teams performance at the 20-20 world cup,hoping that he would be given a chance again.......sooner or later.....

Chak De Bollywood

It was a red letter day in my life that I had an opportunity to watch CHAK DE INDIA....Thanks to my friend R and her husband A for taking me with them....I owe them a great treat in return for sure:))
Whatta movie...Chak De Bollywood hats off to director Shimit Ameen(AD ya work panna ivar kitta ellaam dhaan work pannanum....)
The movie starts off quite simply without any heroic introductions to KING Khan Shahrukh.....Hope at least one southi star accepts such a thing hehe...May be i am dreaming or asking for too much.He is falsely accused of match fixing and loses his hockey career....The guy returns with a bang and uplifts the spirits of Indian womans hockey team which was until then a sick pathetic unit of egoistic girls who live in their own identities and refuse to unite as a team.....and eventually wins the world cup for INDIA....
The introduction of the team members starting from the angry punjabi kudi to the ignorant Jharkand girls is really splendid...
The gutsy Sharukh has a mammoth task ahead.He has to satisfy the male chauvinistic management,get sponsorships,unite the egoistically inflated hostile team member girls....so much...but he handles with much ease as much as the director handles the screenplay and direction in a flawless way....
Sharukhs characterisation has been perfect and one of the best any actor could have had in the recent times....SRK couldnt have asked for anything better but one has to appreciate the actors courage to have signed a slightly off beat movie when bollywood masalas are waiting at his doorsteps for the remuneration he demands...No words to appreciate his flawless subtle and underplayed performance...Undoubtedly he is one of the greatest acting geniuses in the world....
The heroines ...most of them unknown as actors have pulled it off with ease..only Vidya Malavade is a known actor among them but all of them have put in great efforts and every single character stands out.They have sincerely played hockey as well...it was so great of the producer and director to have taken pains in training them formally in hockey before commencing the shoots.
One more commendable job is the handling of the expected climax in the most interesting way...We are pretty much sure India would win but director Ameen has succeeded in bringing us to the edge of our seats till the last second...
The camera work,Sulaiman-Saleems back ground scores and montage songs, immaculate editing all add up to the beauty of the movie and have worked in perfect synchronisations to make it huge and add up to the grandeur of the movie...
I was amazed by the way patriotism has been handled in this film..There was no over doing or singing patriotic songs or anything but it has been expressed now and then along with the story line..especially when SRK talks about a white guy hoisting the Indian flag the day before the final match....A movie that should not be missed.....for sure.. A movie SRK and Yash Raj films would be remembered for...A movie every non cricket playing Indian would die for......no more words to appreciate( i rarely get so emotional)
I have always been a critic of some sick bollywood movies...with same old story lines, all movies dealing the stories of NRI s,similar sounding songs,making cheap fun of south indians and non hindi speaking indians,over exposing heroines and smooching champions ....but movies like Dil Chahta Hai,Lagaan ,Rang De Basanti and now Chak De India have been proving that bollywood has already taken the giant leap ahead of south indian industry which ,I hope we will soon be able to catch up if educated movie makers add to the population of the existing movie makers....
JAI HIND................. CHAK DE BOLLYWOOD.....

En Iniya Ilangai Makkale

En Iniya Ilangai Makkalae
My voice could never be stentorian as Director Bharathi Raja's nevertheless I decided to use or rather borrow his expression that I am really delighted after the performance on the 18th of August in Ratnam Stadium Kotahena,Colombo.
The show was one of the best ever I had performed in my career so far..Although I had performed a new years eve show in the very same country few years back amidst a crowd of nearly a lakh,that was mainly a Sinhala show which also featured Tamil artistes but this one was totally different.This one was organised for the Tamils mainly and also featured some Sinhala artistes like Ginger girl.
The organisers viz.Sooriyan FM were extremely efficient in show promotions and the whole city was covered with colourful banners of us.The previous day was full of my songs and the next day featured Chinmayis.There was also a special show of 2 hours with full of my songs in the afternoon RJ ed by Shankari.I also did RJing along with Navaneethan from 4 30 to 8 pm the previous evening.I could also talk live to few listeners from Thirunelveli district who are regular listeners of Srilankan Sooriyan FM.That was a different experience talking to our country men from another country radio...
The sound check happened around 5 pm on the show day and I sang few songs which I usually dont perform regularly in India but which are big hits there in SL.There were huge crowds watching from their households and waving and cheering up..

At 9 pm the show commenced .There was an attendance of 60 thousand almost 99 percent of them being Tamils.It was a great thing that they gave the same response to slow melodies like Sakkarai Nilave and Puliya Kili(Veerappu) as that of Kutthu songs...In fact the kutthu songs were only Sinhala Bai La Songs and only the group dances were done with Kutthu songs played from CD direct.All other songs sung by us were melodious numbers.The show went on till 1 pm and the audiences were all cheerful till the end....Where can we find such lovely Tamil audiences...Hats off to Tamil and Srilanka...En Tamizhukku Nandri En Tamizhargalukku Nandri...

Manakula Magic--first rec in Pondy

Hey
It has been a long time since I blogged.The gap was only because I had exams and also some nice recordings( I ll tell later what movie etc)..Anyways her e I am ...back

I had gone to Pondicherry(determined not to call it Puducherry)...for a concert couple of days ago...The concert went on very well...First time...it was for a betrothal function...My friend had accompanied me as my dad didnt want me to go alone(indian parents always treat their children as kids:)))
I finished the concert.Although the strength of the audiences was much lesser than usual kalyaana katcheries...the people were loving and caring...
France nationals who originated from Pondy...
The next day we got up early and decided to make a visit to Mother Ashram and then to Manakkula Vinaayagar temple.Although my friend is a christian by birth,he is a very secular and broad minded guy..He visits temples with me too...We finished our Ashram visit and were heading to the temple and I got a call for a recording...my first recording in Pondicherry...The subject being Manakkula Vinayagar....I was thrilled and was extremely happy...Finished the song and started little late to Chennai...Truly a miraculous experience....

BAKERS ST----A new landmark in the making....

Hey guys and girls ...I have a great news for you....for those of you who are fond of chocolates it is a music to your ears and chocolates to your mouth(my attempt to create phrases haha)
If you happen to be associated with Pondicherry in some way or the other...and also if you could appreciate the peculiarity and the speciality of the city(state)....Bakers Street is in teh making..
Well whats this Bakers Street....is it another cake/coffee shop????...if this is your question my answer is NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Bakers street is something which is very unique...You might think this is what everybody says....youre wrong again if you say so...
It is totally Indian...Indian chocolates....which could cater to the world...born in India to rock the world....first of its kind....It is being floated by my friend Srinath Balachandran along with his partners...Srinath,now a well known chocolatier in Pondy who has made a name for himself in this industry in the recent times....I loved his chocolates and more than that the passion he has for making great chocolates which are better than most international brands I have tasted...He knows that I am not a keen chocolate lover too but I couldnt resist the temptation....You should taste to believe what I say...
But you have to wait for a couple of more months...Bakers Street is getting ready to have its launch around September...situtated in Lal Bahadur Shastri Road in Pondy...soon to be a great landmark...

The guy is on orkut too http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=9624258363976413435

All the best guys....Rock the world....Be Indian

Thiruveezhimizhalai...Mysteriously Divine......

Recently I had to visit Karaikal(Pondy State) for my friends Nikkah(islamic wedding)....I had planned my trip in such a way that I could visit Thiruvizhimizhalai...a very ancient Shivan temple in the Nagapatnam district if I am right...
I had no clue about the existence of such a temple till my friend singer Vijay(kris) had told me about it and about the specialities of it..He has a real flair for temple visits especially an affinity for Lord Shiva(the destroyer among the trinity of Hindu Gods)....
Anyway lemme not get into those details now....
I had taken the East Coast Road route via Pondy(tamil fanatics pls forgive...I am used to calling it pondicherry and can't get easily accustomed to Puducherry) Cuddalore,Chidambaram upto Mayiladuthurai...From Myladuthurai I had to ask for Thiruvarur route and had tocross Peralam town and go upto Poonthoattam village where there is a temple exclusively for Goddess Saraswati(goddess of education and arts).From there we had to take a narrow road upto Thiruvizhimizhalai ...the road is actually used by the local ppl to reach kumbakonam town....
Even the locals were not aware of the existence of this temple and we had to ask few spiritually or rather religously inclined people who directed us where to turn...There is a small unsurfaced mud road which leads to the temple....

The moment we saw the grandeur and the mammoth structure which was concealed till then, we were speechless....Oh my God!!! what a temple...The total area of the temple could easily be around 6 acres or something....We initially had trouble in finding out the entry point of the temple....
The huge walls encircling the temple is not less than 30 feet tall and at least 4 feet in width...one of the strongest structures I have ever witnessed for sure....The moment we stepped into the temple we could really feel something very different which is totally inexplicable by words...Sound of silence which I call it wrapped us instantly....We crossed the pathway and went into the main Prakaram and I realised the structure is in the form of concentric squares or rectangle(if only I could figure out the whole place within the short span of time)

My friend had told me already that the temple is not very popular even among the locals except for some rituals and functions conducted on auspicious days...There was no one in the temple and we had to go in and to our surprise could not even find any priest...We simply had to pray ourselves,prostrated before the Deity ( a huge Shiva lingam inside a very scantily lit main prakaaram)...We could find works of Thirugnanasambandhar,Arunagiri Nathar and few other saints ,carved on granite stones plastered on teh walls of the temple....
I later found the priest who was very reluctant (probably bcos of the monotony or whatever).He didnt even show Deepa Aradhanai to the deity...just gave us some sacred Ash(Vibhuti) and vanished ( to my surprise he locked the temple when we were praying)...
Then we started our Pradakshanams(going round the main deity) and there were many deities and different types of lingams murugan,ganapathi small temples,Chandikeshwarar,Kala Bhairava and so many others...
Adjacent to the Shivan temple is the temple of Devi(his consort) ..there was no one their as well....Nevertheless the atmosphere and the climate was just too perfect for a great darshan...
I was told that Thirugnana Sambandhar was given padi kasu(not sure what it is) i guess it is some gift money by the Lord himself....
The place has been mentioned in many ancient tamil works of various great saints....
AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA