Happy New Year

Another year bites the dust in 5 hours.

2008 was a very eventful year for me. Life taught me a lesson this year. A lesson well learnt.

I hope and pray 2009 will be a Happy, Healthy and prosperous year for all of you and also for me and my family.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Abhiyum Naanum - Must see

Every now and then a Tamil movie comes out that warms your heart and stays in you for a long time.

A while back it was 'Mozhi' and now it is 'Abhiyum Naanum'.

Both these movies are the brain children of 'Duet films' a wonderful movie making company that has to patted on the back.

I had the opportunity to watch 'Abhiyum Naanum' a few days back at IMC6 in the Bay area. I am glad I took my daughters along.

These days, movies rely on a lot of commercial elements for success but 'Abhiyum Naanum' directed by Radha Mohan has rewritten the rules of the game ( once again ). There is absolutely no blood, navel etc. in this gem of a movie.

Simple story, superb acting by Prakash Raj / Trisha / Aishwarya and especially 'Ravi Shastri', wonderful dialogues and beautiful photography are some of the hallmarks of this film.

I am not going to write about 'Ravi Shastri' in detail though he IMHO stole the show. He is a wonderful character nicely done by someone ( don't know his name). I couldn't control my tears on one occasion where he first calls Trisha as 'Mom'. Very touching.

Biggest letdown is Vidya Sagar. I didn't like any of the songs, though the one by Kailash Kher sounds a little different and is listenable.

I am very happy to see such films come out of Kollywood. Thanks Prakash Raj / Radha Mohan and team for a wonderful movie.

PS - My daughters gave 99.5 for Abhi and 100 for Mozhi !!

நெஞ்சு பொறுக்குதில்லையே !

India behind !!

These are not my words:

"India may stand to loose its competitive advantages against the other countries in long term if corrective measures are not taken to strengthen the Indian education system qualitatively," Assocham President Sajjan Jindal said.

There is also a silver lining in the survey by ASSOCHAM. Check it out.

Like I said in my earlier post, India has to take care of its Cheese.

Automakers woes - A lesson

I've been closely following the bailout discussions for the automakers in the USA. Washington in my opinion, will pass it but with a lot of strings attached. i feel that 'Strings' are definitely needed for the arrogant automakers.

Why do I call them arrogant? I should actually call them foolish and arrogant. They were foolish to sleep when the whole world was talking about fuel economy and saving money, not to forget GLOBAL WARMING. Japanese were smart. They took the lead and crushed the US Automakers to dust via their Hybrid cars.

We all know about the quality of the American cars. If one followed the ratings of the cars in Consumer Reports magazine, it would be easy to notice where the American cars stand in quality and reliability.

I called the automakers arrogant because they didn't budge to the government's request for fuel efficiency standards. They even sued the Govt. on greenhouse emissons (Even the Japanese participated).

Now...they are on their knees begging for money.

** - **

I think about India..as this drama unfolds. Today, India is entirely dependent on its booming IT industry. Well deserved , no arguments. But..! What about the other sectors ? Any action plans if the IT PIE is lost or becomes cheaper ? What will happen to the economy of India if IT starts to fade ? Can it sustain the growth? ( 8% is the claim). Scary thought indeed !

Unless India takes sufficient steps to cement the success and grow wisely ...it will lose to China and other countries pretty soon.

I had a question for Wipro's chairman when he was here. I asked him 'Are you afraid of China?'. He said 'Yes' and that's why they are opening offices in China.

Always stay on the cutting edge is the Mantra here. If you slack....someone will eat your cheese.

In fact this applies to the entire world even to you and me !

Chennai 2009

(Pic courtesy: The Hindu)

IT BOOM ..blah..blah..blah....where does all the money go? Why can't it be spent on sanitation !

Blogswara - 5 - Dec-12-2009

Blogswara-5 is ready for release on Dec-12-2009. A big variety of songs this time. The teasers are wonderful. There are some good melodies.

I've not been able to complete any of my songs..! Hopefully will have a song in Blogswara-6.

Please visit BLOGSWARA and check the teasers out !

Ghajini songs

(Pic courtesy: Bollywood Hungama)

Aamir Khan and Rahman combo. I thought the songs of Ghajini would be good. But alas, I was very disappointed. I didn't feel like replaying any of the songs !

Am I the only one, I am not sure. It's been a while since A.R.Rahman came up with an album like this.

Pardon me Rahman fans.

Foggy days

This is the scene from my window yesterday morning. This is exactly how I feel about the US economy as it is today. I hope we don't end up in whiteout conditions before spring breaks out next year !

Though the money managers of the nation come out and assure us that things will get better, I feel that things are getting worse by the day. Lots of job loses ! Huge layoffs all around.

Silver lining is the 1.60$ gas price which really doesn't help if someone doesn't have a job to feed the family and pay his bills.

I hope Obama and his team would come up with intelligent plans to rescue this economy.

We need jobs here in America.

வாழ்க ஜனநாயகம் !

(நன்றி: www.tamileelamnews.com)

தாத்தாவும் பேரக்குழந்தைகளும் இணைந்தனர்.

பகை மறந்து கரம் இணைத்தனர் !

முதல் பக்க செய்தி!

இவர்கள் சண்டையில் பறிபோன மூன்று உயிர்களுக்கு பதில்?

அவர்கள் குடும்பங்களின் கதி?

கேட்க யாரும் இல்லை...!!

வாழ்க ஜனநாயகம்!

பீலா மன்னர்கள்!

TATA வுக்கு நேரம் சரியில்லையாம் !!

ஜோசியர் சொல்கிறார்!!

ஜோசியரே - நானும் சொல்லுவேன் நடந்து முடிந்த கதைகளை!! உம்மால் ஏன் சொல்ல முடியவில்லை - ஒரு வாரத்துக்கு முன்...மும்பையில் தீவிரவாதம் நடக்கும் என்று?

ஏன் என்றால் - ஜாதகம் ஜோசியம் எல்லாம்..பீலா!!

ஊரை ஏமாற்றும் வித்தை !

நாட்டில் எந்த ஜோசியராவது மும்பையை பற்றி சொன்னார்களா? இல்லையே!! ஏன்!!!

மக்களை ஏமாற்றும் கலை - ஜோசியம்!!

பாரதி பிறந்த மண்ணில் பேதமை!!

கேவலம்!!!