Kavin's 1st Birthday Party

My nephew Kavin (brother's son) celebrated his 1st birthday on Oct 26th wonderfully in the Food Village (a beach restaurant come party space) in ECR, Chennai. The event went well, and the guests highly appreciated our arrangements for the birthday party. 

The event was organized by my brother independently, which is the first of its kind apart from the events related to his business. He looked for some party halls, but none were suitable, such as Food Village, which has an open lawn adjoining a closed hall to avoid a sloppy mess in the event of rain. Thankfully, nature does not shower us with rain until the next morning, which is uncommon because most of the events after my brother's marriage, which took place during a raging cyclone, had rain.  

We arrived at the venue an hour before the event began, and the nephew had a brief pre-birthday photoshoot on the lawn; I had some time to roam about the set up and take shots. A buffet dinner has set up on the lawn, and round tables were placed in the center to sit and eat, with a nice pavement to walk around. I liked the light and balloon decoration in the theme of blue; to match it, the nephew, brother, and sister-in-law also wore blue attire.

The birthday party was delayed by an hour from our original time of 6 pm, because of the late arrival of guests. The time we returned home became late at night. But this was not a problem. Everyone seemed to have a good time at the party, and some unexpected guests made it memorable. Just for the words of the invitation, a neighbor who had just arrived from Dubai the night before came over to say hello with his family. 

With close friends and family gathered around the stage, Kavin cut a cake, which was likewise a blue cream cake; he relished tasting the cake (but it was the cream) pieces fed by others. They used a firework candle on the cake instead of a traditional candle. As a result, there was no candle-blowing moment because blowing a firework is not easy unless it burns to empty. 

The only thing I didn't like about the event was the loud DJ music. While I don't deny that music is a party staple, the louder they play it, the more it leaves me in a blank where friends and family wondering about me can only shake their heads because I couldn't hear what they were saying and my words went unheard by them.  Even "happy birthday" and clapping sounds disappeared into the DJ.

We are glad Kavin wasn't grumpy during the party. Generally, he would whimper and cry his way through the crowd, refusing to go to anyone new. Most of the party attendees were new to him, yet he managed somehow without going to anyone! Lol. The guests showered him with presents and blessings. 

Food Village is entirely wheelchair friendly, with the restaurant in front overlooking the ECR and a party lawn in the back with a separate entrance from the sidestreet, which leads to the well-known Sai Baba temple. I had wanted to go to the restaurant for lunch or dinner for a long time, and it had finally come true owing to Kavin's birthday. 

These days, birthday parties are conducted mainly for Biriyani, and Kavin's birthday wasn't an exception.  There was Mutton Biriyani, Chicken 65, Parotta, Chicken gravy, and Veg-Biryani, for vegetarians. 

The food was much better and tastier than we expected from what we heard. I want to try the restaurant again for the biriyani because I couldn't get enough that day owing to the late hour. I generally avoid biriyanis at night because I'm concerned they'll be tough to digest, but I've had no problems so far and still want to avoid them at night.  

We hired a photographer and videographer to cover the birthday celebration, and I believe there is still a post-birthday photoshoot to be performed before the Pendrive arrives. After some thought, I stepped closer to the stage to take some photos and video of the cake-cutting ceremony; we'll have to wait a bit longer for clean pictures. 

In the end, everyone was pleased or had no flaws.   

If you have time check the video clip from the birthday

A couple of days for Deepavali!

Deepavali or Diwali, the word itself, would offer us joy, and as the Indian festival of lights (Oct 24th) approaches, both India and Indians living abroad are getting ready to celebrate the festival with all delight. 

Shopping, like any other festival, is crucial in Deepavali, and buying new dresses is a custom we once followed but abandoned due to the festival rush and other factors; buying crackers is another favorite activity we never miss. Either through the Deepavali fund (small money accumulated year after year by a well-known individual who organizes the purchase of fireworks, sweets, and other festival necessities) or by going to the cracker shop. I've been purchasing fireworks online for the last few years. 

Turn on the television, and you will see Deepavali commercials and discounts on any channel. Even YouTube channels aren't immune to the practice. The special buses for Deepavali transportation, as well as the busy streets of shopping areas, were also a part of the tidings on news channels.  Overall, it looks like people are engaged in celebrating the festival in some way. 

I believe no other generation has celebrated Deepavali like our 90s generation. Perhaps because I grew through it or saw a celebration that I didn't see subsequently or today. My mother told me about how their generation celebrated Deepavali, and it was my late elder maternal uncle who bought crackers for his siblings. He used to buy a lot of crackers at a reasonable price. He had been smarter during his childhood and also grew up as well. He has been a great support to our family and the good life (through wealth) we lead today is because of him.

I see that, like any other event, today's generation has lost interest in fireworks and Deepavali itself. Aside from the impact of gadgets, I feel the lack of interest in fireworks is due to laziness. This is only a point of view alone, and everyone has their reasons for staying away from fireworks. Of course, Deepavali is not only fireworks. I see Deepavali as a festival (like any other) whose key reason is to share and celebrate harmony together. 

To honor our festival of lights, the mayor of New York City has declared Diwali a citywide public holiday beginning next year, in 2023. And this is not only good news, but it will encourage people around the world to support the festival and learn about our traditional festivals, and it will undoubtedly have an effect. I wish you all a Happy Deepavali! 

Signs2: Message

 Save trees to save ourselves! 

On the road to Kodaikanal, the forest department painted a mural promoting environmental awareness. 

A sign of peace 

Signs2

Metro Juice Park  

A small juice and coffee and tea shop on the descent of Adyar bridge, opposite Sathya studio. 

It's been some time since I updated my blog, and I am doing well, so you do not need to worry. I was busy with video editing for my nephew's upcoming birthday, and I was learning new things in photoshop and using the time to think creatively to make it as enjoyable as possible. Hope you all having a good time. I will keep blogging and try to visit you all.

Ponniyin Selvan (It's not about the Film) !

Know what's the trend in South Indian social media right now? It's Ponniyin Selvan. In short, PS-1. 

When I first saw the PS-1 commercial on social media, I immediately thought of anything similar to India's PSLV (The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle). 

Ponniyin Selvan is a well-known classic historical novel in Tamil authored by Kalki that requires no introduction if you are from Tamil Nadu, India's southernmost state. It is a timeless novel that was serialized for three and a half years before being published in five volumes in 1955; now, after many attempts, the book has been adapted into a film by acclaimed filmmaker Manirathnam! 

It is impossible to shrink a five-series novel (a storyline that lasts 8 months) into a three-hour film, so the production team opted to divide the movie into two parts, with PS-1 being the first.   

I have never read such an inspiring and suspenseful historical novel. As captivating fiction, the book tells the story of the greatest king of Tamil Nadu, Raja Raja Chozan, also known as Ponniyin Selvan, and Aruilmozi Varman. I loved reading this book, or more precisely, I enjoyed traveling through it, and it takes us to numerous locations within the Chola kingdom a thousand years ago. 

I had wanted to read this book for a long time. However, I made it in 2022, and I picked the English translation of this mammoth work over the original in Tamil, which I am convinced is more emotional. I  like to read Ponniyin Selvan in Tamil to get that experience again. I've been fascinated by this story for a few months and have become familiar with the characters and wish it could go on forever since I was eager to know what happened next; the novel never lags because the scene varies. 

Even though the book is about Ponniyin Selvan (whose regime the Chozha Empire reached lands beyond the high seas), my favorite character is Vandhiya Devan, the true protagonist who carries the story on his shoulders. Mostly, it was through him we glimpse the beauty of the great Chozha country, and his role in missions was adventurous and exhilarating, adding to the fantastic visions I had throughout the subject. The narration and facts of the Chozha Empire and its clan are fascinating to read and convey the magnificence of the Chozha dynasty. However, pride comes from knocking down a country for revenge, and fighting against other kingdoms only highlights an empire's valor unless the country is in the hold of grief or oppressive rule. 

I am more engaged in this book than in any other book I have read so far, and I was obliged to reread a lot of phrases, paragraphs,  chapters, or scenarios to experience the feel or feel of the content. When I was in the latter half of the series, news about PS 1 started circulating in the media; I strictly avoided everything relevant to the film from entering my consciousness (at least until I finished reading the book) to avoid distractions from the air-drawn imagination I drew. 

Some of the places I visited in Chozha country, such as Thanjavur (the capital of Chozhas at the time of the story), Kumbakonam, Nagapattinam, and Kodikkarai, influenced my imagination. I fantasize about erasing all forms of development and replacing them with wilderness and greenery dotted with small towns and villages and contrasting them with palaces. Every time the story centers on Thanjavur, the fortification and the gateways to the Big Temple and the moat and the river that runs beside it make a magnificent mixture of fort and palaces.

The version (of Ponniyin Selvan) I read was rendered in English by Varalotti Rengasamy; I chose him because when I looked for the book, only he had the entire series of five, so I could read the novel without stopping. I truly enjoy the author Kalki's simple and direct narrative and approach to constructing a plot about the bravest and most powerful kingdom ever known in Tamil Nadu. And crowning it all is the sacrifices of Ponniyin Selvan, according to the author, are the essential component of the story that inspired him to write this magnum work. 

I'm so invested in the book that I believe I could visualize and recall every aspect of it if I decided to sit back and draw scenes without reading it, which is the novel's strength. Please read the book if you haven't already. If you don't want to read, you can watch the upcoming film (releases on Sep 30) instead. But, whether you watch the movie or not, I wish everyone read Ponniyin Selvan.