PowerShot Sunday – Easter Eggs

No, these eggs are not prepared for Easter but I find it appropriate to post today. Since Easter is celebrated everywhere and eggs are a part of this festival, I tried connecting it here. These eggs are actually boiled while we picnicked near Kodaikanal, on the bank of Kukkal Lake, during last year vacation. It was truly fun the way we made certain things under shower (rain), eggs were one of side dish along with chicken sixty five we cooked on Lake Bank. Thinking now is quite fun and cool!  

PowerShot Sunday is a series I begin with this post now and I have number of photos to share under this title, perhaps come out solely and photos I could not arrive with specific post, will be posed here. PowerShot is the name of the camera model I use from Canon. I have two PowerShot cameras in 8 and 12 megapixels and lately I mostly use 12mp (sx220 hs) rather 8mp (sd850 is) which has some lens problem, but macro is fine. 

Like always the photos here will be posed through Flickr (copy paste the code) and I used this mainly for easy uploading and getting pictures without lose its richness. I opened Flickr account along with blogger but I wasn’t active there unlike last few years which enhanced more now. Blogging is something could not match with anything! 

Curves and Bends - Valparai

There are various aspects fascinate about Valparai, which is considered as seventh heaven on earth, near Coimbatore, was also marvelous with roads ways, taking us through number of curves and hairpin bends while traveling front and back. And among the 40 hairpin bends, half of them arrive at close distance and as series zigzag is a mild adventure and amusement if someone rides with caution. I have traveled to Valparai twice and both my rides as up and down on this ghat section (mountain road) was amazing.

My first time travel on this road was more excited rather the second one, but unlike early, the later one got me more opportunity to stay on the way with views on awesome curves and bends with lower Aziyar reservoir at rear. It takes at least three hours to reach Valparai from the foothill, if one travel on an average speeds and admiring the scenes alongside the road. From the 9^th hairpin bend or Loam’s view, we get a panoramic view on the widespread Aziyar reservoir and road winding along the mountains, forest and waterfalls.  

The road to Valparai was constructed in the year 1886 and until then people had only used horseback or single foot path to reach Valparai and its adjacent villages. Everyone knows it’s not easy to built roads on mountains and during the construction of this road; many people had lost their lives exposed to mystique diseases and mosquitoes bite. The road was well planned and constructed on the supervision of PWD Engineer Mr. Mathew Loam and by appreciating his astonishing work; the stunning viewpoint (9^th bend) was named after him.

The relative who accompany us throughout our Valparai visit, during our later turn, had much detail to reveal every part of this Western Ghats region.  Since a resident of Valparai and retired primary health center employee, he had traveled to even remote areas of Valparai and helped treating tribes had reflected him in learning many things which he mere shared with us. The 9th bend is a vital part of this mountain road and anything damage to it means, totally cut off the transportation from rest of the country. 

The crucial 9th hairpin bend (above and below)

The 9^th bend is also fascinated for the sight of Niligir Thar – a endanger species, that spread only on Western Ghats. Perhaps, Anamalai is the only region where Thars are found at minimum large in numbers. One could find the Thar’s – state animal of Tamil Nadu, grazing on the mound above the 9^th bend! 

View on the curves we come across

Summer!

Image courtesy: tumblr

It’s already summer here

the days as bright as ever,
open to pretty blue sky
letting earth wrap in heat.

Unlike winter cold nights
hugged from inner core;
summer is a composition of
bright and warmth coloring.

The hottest season is here;
while many delight with spring,
we’re exposed to light heaver
between the rise and rest of sun.

There are mighty rather mere,
summer is always special with memories,
unfold by the cool breeze
blown onshore of Bay of Bengal.

The wind blows stronger
for the last few days – bliss,
but not where it needed
to generate wind energy.

The sun changed its path
while seasons change similarly,
the shadow come fall
gracefully on our front yard. 

காதல் கடிதம் / Love Letter

translate of the letter in English :

After seeing you I have changed
or had you changed me?

Just been a wanderlust myself
you turned me as a tiger;
like how tiger pursues deer
you made me come around you.

Whether you love me or not
I come,
binding the eyes and closing the ears
in hope
that one day you will look at me
and accept my love.

                                        

                                     With affection

Paradesi - The Best!

There are very few films come up with a concept of period piece and recreate history exactly or feel close to real. In this front, director Bala’s ‘Paradesi’ (a pejorative Tamil term for wastrel) has took a special place in Indian film industry and within days of release (march 15) the film received National Award for Best costume design – by Poornima Ramaswamy. Inspired by a 1969 English novel ‘Red Tea’ by Paul Harris Daniel, the film upholds real life incidents of enslaved tea plantation workers of pre-independence India.

Director Bala, critically acclaimed for very unusual cinema has transported us to an era where the people of rural villages in the Madras Presidency are drove to work on British tea plantations with a promise of high wage and accommodation on contract base. But once reached, they are treated as enslave and pointing at their accommodation, food and medicine the supervisor cheats the enslaved to work on frustration and uncertain freedom. The film’s lead was unrolled by Adharvaa as Rasa, a carefree young tom-tom beater with half bald head – which is the state of most of men in the film hailed from village as enslave.

Alike Adharvaa, Vedhivka role is equally appraise for characteristic performance. The pretty actress has greased down gracefully, showcasing her acting skill which perhaps would wonder anyone who had watched any of her early pictures. ‘I guess everyone is equally talented and bringing it out is an art of either actor or director similar to student or teacher’. In this way director Bala had done incredible job by bringing or identifying the best out of actors and giving them change while exploring untouched plots.

The film also enclosed the struggle of tea leaf plucking; confesses the truth which is not easy as we see in tea estates, a pretty sight where women wore a basket on back and head covered in colorful shawl. One thing that impressed or impounds me in the film was the tone.  The dark yet low-light gave a realistic touch and brought down the more emotional and enslave scenes into less impulse. The music scores vital support to the film and songs come alongside the sequence is fair impressive and profound lyrics produces energy whiles lives at enslave.

Nowhere could I see an actor on screen and every character were so alive. The film run for more or less than two hour has very less dialogues, but the expressions and cinematography explains a lot. I recommend this film as must watch everyone and there is no language barrier here. Sorry I have no complains about the film, but indeed appreciate the entire team of Paradesi and its impossible without hardship and hats off to Bala to think different from any other.