adhu oru kanaa kaalam

Have been listening to songs from Balumahendra-Illayaraja's "adhu oru kanaa kaalam" offlate...This is one of the best combos tamil cinema has ever produced - and they dont disappoint.
"anda naal gnyabagam" - the jewel in the crown...a simple, catchy number that gets u humming instantly....its a good recipie for dull and happy,relaxed moods alike...Illayaraja once again proves why he is a genius - over the years, he has shrugged his traditional tabla-flute-violin style and adapted to changing trends, and still managed to not lose his uniqueness in carving out melodies ..(kadhalukku mariyaadhai,kannukkul nilavu ,azhaghi are standing examples of this...)

"kaattu vazhi" - who better than Illayaraja to sing pathos and preachy songs?? His voice suits the mood perfectly and the tune is carefully downplayed to bring out the meaning of the lyrics...a very good preachy song....

"kili thattu" - a very sweet song ...but quite a familiar tune.....
its better not to talk abt the other two...even "onnaala" can be somehow accepted coz they may claim "the script needs it" ....but "ennada nenachha ennapathi" .....poooooohhhhhh....my god!! why dont these guys realise the stupidity of trying to imitate rajni!!! its sad that even balu mahendra has had to succumb to the latest trend of "one gana song a movie":(

wings of fire

Dear Träumerei,
U were born to make me do something i dont have a natural instinct for - write.. Iam happy - I can talk to u with absolutely no pressure ......u will not decide my US admission, job or relationships....u will just take all that i give and reflect when i need...
so , here i go...iam quite happy today...i finished my 2nd book - Wings of fire. The book had just 3 things - science, spirituality and management - thru the eyes of Kalam... One thing that struck me as the book drew to a close was that it never made me excited - as in, there werent any stories that made me bubble with instant energy....It was rather a story of a simple man with lots of passion for wat he did , and knew only one way to achieve it- sincere,hard work...Kalam has a simple prescription for life - be true to urself and word hard....
I have offlate come across(and sometimes been part of) heated debates on "patriotism in today's world", "pseudo-secularism" and the like....Kalam's story has given me a simple,straight answer to many such queries - u dont need to go out of ur way and carry out reforms....instead just do ur work and be true to ur consciene in watever u do....
i cant stop my smile when i imagine every individual doing his work silently - no fuss, no unrest ...just sincerity - the kalam way!! easier said than done,though..

My Berlin visit

I had been to Berlin yesterday. I covered the most important tourist attractions,getting a good feel of the vital aspects of German history. The first on our list was "Reichstag" - The German parliament. This massive monument took me by awe. The sculptures were typical of the architecture of those times. I snapped a few images with my "6.3 euro use and throw camera"(wish i had a better one:), before we made it to the long queue at the entrance. It was a good 30-40 minutes wait which was enjoyable courtesy two things - the dark clouds giving intermittent bursts of shower reminding me of chennai , and the loud boo of ppl (resembling "govindaaa" of junta waiting to see the lord in tirupathi) every time the door opened to let the next lot in...my borrowed umbrella was fighting hard against those few wind-driven drops which tried to escape it, as i reached the entrance.
On the cieling three initials "F-III", "W-I" and "W-III" were inscribed meaning Friedrich-III,Willhelm I and II -the first 3 heads of the german empire...the inside of Reichstag was elegant. It was an engineering beauty of steel and glass. the spiral steps leading to the dome at the top, and the view of Berlin city from there were amazing. The role of this parliament in German history was displayed as a series of fotos around the dome. One person for whom i was searching all along, and found to be conspicuously missing in the fotos was Adolf Hitler.
My next destination was the Brandenburger gate - the one that separated West and East Berlin. The gate is an appealing monument. There is this little note near that gate that says "Achtung..Sie verlassen jetzt West Berlin" (Attention!You are leaving West-Berlin now). The names of those who tried to cross the wall and were prosecuted have been recorded on small placards on the opposite side. There is also this wonderful paiting of the bombed gate on the back side. These things make u feel as though u've gone thru the pain urself...so touching...
The best part of my day was the time I spent at the "Historische Museum". It had 3 floors - The first one was for the "Legalisierter Raub"(Legalised Robbery) implicated on the jews by Hitler's regime. This had mostly old "over the head" financial documents :) Nevertheless, one cud get a feel of the injustice to the jews when one read the synopsis. The second and third floors were dedicated to incidents before and after World-War -II.... The chronology of events described vividly with a few photos,pieces of famous structures and short videos made me feel like having going through the entire thing myself...One particular video showing how a family was struggling in the undergroud of an about-to-collapse building moved me...Bricks shattered everywhere, all ppl -kids and adults alike, clearing the streets in biting cold.....ppl queing up for that lone piece of bread ....are etched in my memory....Seriuosly, anyone who thinks Indo-Pak crisis shud be solved by war shud visit this place once....
Having been to most of the "must-see"s, we decided to stroll around the streets of the city before we left...The crowded(by german standards...though:D) trams, the weekend "Floh Markt" (remember Burma Bajar!!), the noisy surroundings and the river Havel flowing across(heard of koovam??) - felt like being in antoher chennai...but a bit more organised and clean!!
Hope I can make a longer trip in this "happening" city on a more sunny day.