I am back....with a travelogue

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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

Sakkarai Amma......

Last week,I had the opportunity of visiting a temple in Thiruvanmiyur which is built for a saint called Sakkarai Amma(whose real name I was told was Anandambaal)...
It is on a small lane off Kalashetra Road which streches from LB Road to Kalakshetra.....a few hundred metres before reaching Kalakshetra...
Although there is a board outside the temple we dont get to realise if there is a temple bcos it has apartments on either side ....
The moment you walk past the temple arch and step into the premises ,we can realise that there is some kind of divine presence and speciality about the place.The broad passage to the temple has coconut trees planted at regular intervals..
After removing footwear there, we could climb few stairs and go into the temple..There is the idol of the saint Sakkarai Amma...Poojas and rituals and mantras are chanted as usual but money is strongly refused by the priest(who also works for free as a service)....
There are lots of trees and greenery around the temple...On the northern side of the temple there is a statue of its founder Dr.NanjundaRao...The southern side of the temple has a meditation hall .....There is a special beautifully landscaped pathway that leads us to the amazing meditation hall which has nothing but silence and a great aura...we can feel the divineness.....It may sound unbelievable but the truth is it rained only on top of the meditation hall when I was inside and not even a wet spot outside....incredible....it may sound....

The priest told me that the saint lived from 1854-1901.She was from somewhere around Tindivanam and she got married at the age of 8 and after her husbands demise she entered monkhood,travelled to many parts of the country,met many great saints like Ramanar,Vivekananda and so on....Finally she came to Thiruvanmiyur where she attained Jeevamukti(deathless Samadhi)....This temple was built in that very same place and she is believed to exist there till now and chanting of lalitha sahasranamam could be heard occasionally .....

Story...

I spent my time today mostly in writing more chapters of my novelthat started a few days back, which I seriously intend to publish in a month or two....I know what you people must be thinking inwardly...jack of all trades but master of what??? still to find that out....

The whole thing of writing in me was triggered when I wrote the lyrics for the album "Mudhal Mazhaiye" and also when I had travelled to US last year for FETNA Convention 2006 New York City....

After the concert,there was a small gathering where great tamizh scholars like Arivoli Gnanaprakasam and Ku.Gnana Sambandhan were giving a speech...

How could I ever expect to be called and address people amist such scholars but I was called and for a minute didnt know what to do....I somehow started my speech quoting Patanjali Yoga Sutra in Sanskrit and its relation to the tamil subject being spoken etc....I cracked jokes in between as I am always confident with humour(at least) :))
I spoke about the topic that why Tamil has shrunk over the years and how we had failed to market(if you may say so) the language at the international platform...whereas a relatively newer language like Hindi has taken a comfortable seat as a national language from being a local dialect of UP and a part of Bihar..etc etc
Two of my friends from childhood,Karthik Nagarajan(who is a US film maker lately) and Anand Vasudevan who had travelled from Texas and Georgia respectively had gone to my room.Not finding me there, they had somehow reached the banquet hall where the gathering was happening...They were shocked to see me with the mic and this time for a change doing the talking and not my usual singing stuff...I could see them with their checked in and cabin baggages from where I was...They patiently waited....kept passing some comments between themselves..probably pasanga kalaasikittu irundhaanga I suppose...

The speech went on for almost 10 minutes and I concluded before I was asked to :)) hahaha

After that people came upto me and asked me to stay for couple of weeks more and speak in few more meetings across USA which I politely refused telling that I am a musician and not a tamil scholar or any scholar in the first place....

Nevertheless my confidence about my tamizh has been steadily getting better with time....

Shivaaaaajeeeeeeeeeeee....

First of all I like to admit that I am a Kamal hassan fan....Nevertheless....I cannot restrict myself from enjoying and appreciating the performance of Super star Rajinikanth in the latest talk of the town Shivaji.....
With due respects to Director Shankar,A.R.Rahman,K.V.Anand and the crew for their hard work and toil, the film is carried by the superstar......His youthful looks(soooo much better than most of his previous films),splendid stunts, terrific Timing sense and comedy paired up this time with the handsome comedian Vivek(my great friend as well) has taken the film above comparison....
Shreyaaaaaaaaaaa......wow....looks simply perfect and sculpted and I am amazed to see that she can act as well....which is unusual for such glamourdolls...
Saw the movie in Inox the first day first show and was thrilled...
Sahana song still reverberates in my ears....
Motthathula Paerae Kaettaalae Adhiridhu......

VEERAAPPU

The audio of Veeraappu was released last evening...Thanks to D.Iman for the nice song..The moviecast has Dir Sundar C on the lead with Gopika as his lover girl...I personally loved singing the song and hope it attracts the masses too..Again a soothing soft melody(goes without saying that people don't wanna use my voice for Kutthu song types)...Anyway D.Iman is an amazing talent and a pleasant person to work with...
Pls post your opinions about the song

Back to blogging...

Hey
This is Harish Raghavendra..the singer... most of you might know ,lots of you might ask whose this guy? Anyways...I have started blogging from today.I have tried doing this a year back but gave up for some bizzare reasons unknown even to my own self...Anyways I love to learn more.Just a toddler I am ...