My Deepavali Celebration and Rain

This year’s Deepavali was somehow fun despite the northeast monsoon rain rocked the Chennai, as well the entire state. I think the rain is very important, which let us survive throughout the year rather the one day celebration Deepavali! Fireworks can be ignited on any other day or skip to Karthigai Deepam, if rain permits, but when drought stroke the heart of the state – Chennai – the real celebration was receiving rain. Though everyone was happy about the rainfall, thanks to deep depression in Bay of Bengal, the storm that landfall near Cuddalore suffered a lot on the day ahead to Deepavali and still fighting to come out of the flooded water. The Chennai experience showering throughout the day, though not heaver, the festival of light was burnt and bound little for the day.

Sparkling Ground Chakra on wet floor

I bought some fireworks for Deepavali through online shopping. Glad the leading firework manufactures open there own site for purchasing, with a demonstration video on each firework on how it displays. I was certain not to get any crackers that make noise, as I myself could not withstand the loudness these days; I went for the fancy fireworks that make colorful the night sky (though it make noise up into the sky, the effect perhaps is less and unavoidable) aside sparkles, ground chakra and flower pots. Every year I used to go out into the neighborhood (on the day and ahead to Deepavali) to catch up the festival mood and looking out into the sky for fireworks displayed by the area people, but  this time I couldn’t make up such moves, as rain continue to shower uncertainly when will it stop and begin. I stayed indoors all the day and to and fro to Deepavali, watching the pretty bore programs on TV and looking at the rain whether it stop for an hour to light fireworks.  

By afternoon the rain decides to hold sometime, and thus I went to my uncle’s house in the adjacent street and had some fun joining/watching my cousin and his friends playing with crackers. Though I hated the noise come from the crackers, I enjoyed the moment being there and it remind me the days I celebrated Deepavali with those crackers (Lakshmi, Sparrow, Red bijli cracker...) and daring to hold it in hand and throw away once ignite. I managed to stay there sometime and chatting with them but the time came in droplets of rain rushed me to home before it started to pour. In the evening my cousin and his friend come to home to help me leaving the aerial fireworks and I really enjoyed our own display of fireworks. As I was feeling uneasy that evening, I couldn’t capture photos on the display of fireworks, so got couple of photos on ground chakra that we let last night. 

A festival that enthuse me

While nearing Deepavali (Nov 10), the enthusiasm about the Festival of Lights ignites inside. When it comes to Deepavali, the thing that comes to mind first was fireworks.  Though fireworks aren’t the only thing or matter of celebration, apart sharing sweets and snacks and greeting each other for the well being and lighting lamps to drive away the darkness that not only surrounds the environment but also the wicked mentality. Fireworks has been the main intention and attraction for me from the childhood and I couldn’t image a Deepavali without fireworks and the noise of crackers, and I think there will be a feel of something missed if there isn’t crackling sound of crackers and colourful display of fireworks at night.

I sense the eagerness of celebrating the festival of light (also the other kind of festivals) has been coming down by each passing year and the gadgets keeps people away from any part of activities.  Whether I ignite crackers are not, going through the festive feel is something I cherish within myself, as I could not force anybody to share my season’s joy, I try to enhance the festival mood in whatever possible way I could and going out in the evening of and a day early to Deepavali is a part of my celebration to get a glance on things happening around my neighbourhood related to the festival. The only Deepavali I couldn’t take part in firework, though I could not ignite anything other than sparkles, it was the year 2013 and because of my fracture I couldn’t even come out of home.

When we were residing in the apartment, we had wonderful opportunity to share the festival feel with our neighbours by exchanging sweets and snacks and it was good to see kids come together to fire fireworks in colourful attires.  Being shifted to couple of houses in last two year, we miss the sharing opportunity and before we become familiar with neighbours the time to move out comes earlier. Though we moved back to our native area now, the feeling wasn’t quite familiar and strangers to many, this if first Deepavali we suppose to celebrate here after 10 years. Among the festivals, I find Deepavali as more social and apart various belief and faith people celebrate it with great happiness and when lighting crackers over life somehow gleam colorful.

P.S. For those who don’t know about Deepavali, also called as Diwali, is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated every year and it is one of the largest and brightest festivals in India that signifies the victory of good over evil. 

Highways Divider

Every time I was on National Highways, I try to capture some images on the road and like taking long angle shots for a wonderful perspective on the pretty neat lanes... somewhere there are dividers in flowering plants, bloom in dazzling colors seems picturesque to shoot.

The eye-catching yellow dividers here is on NH 46 – Chennai-Bangalore highways. I shot these photos long back when driving back from Bangalore and this part of road is somewhere between Ambum and Vellore, I guess.

Linking this post for Run a Round Ranch's Good Fences

Demonte Colony

Horror is the trend (successful trend) in the Tamil cinema and this year, number of films released under this genre and almost tasted the success.  I haven’t watched many films of this genre, but from the few I checked and heard about, humour has been the main source for the success of these films except the movies – Maya, Strawberry and Demonte Colony (which I watched last weekend) are suppose to be serious. Demonte Colony grips watching throughout without got to be disturbed by the commercial factors anywhere but it was entertaining in a different way and it has an interesting screenplay set between four friends fighting against the spirit within four walls of their bachelor room.

Though the film doesn’t expose any scary images but got to experience a real thriller through the characters expression and haunted feeling. Inspired from a real time rumour related to the Demonte Colony, in Alwarpet, Chennai, though I don’t know what history the colony holds, the director’s creation was superb and the time period he capture through the scene was another impressive part. Arulnithi dictated the leadership well, and the other three friend characters are greatly supported the venture and has put a realistic effect while exploring the ghost bungalow as well fighting against the fear of being killed. The director has put the story simple to understand by everybody and though intellectually played the scenario there are certain moves confuses the naive while the focus is on fatality or escape.

Demonte Colony is tremendous and gives a bit of realistic feel among the horror films!

RGB Monday

I got to capture a photo yesterday when there was a downpour, following the presence of northeast monsoon. The rain created a pool across the courtyard, though it drained after the downpour ceased I want to make an image out of it and coincidentally the image got the colors of red, green and blue, which I come to know only later. So how can I miss the opportunity rather posting it on RGB series?

Here: Red bricks of the under construction building across the road, Green foliage of the neighbor's house and our Blue plastic drum, which was placed under a roof drain  for storing rainwater. The rainwater drain through this was pretty cleaner and we redirect it to our sump later for domestic use.    

Garden Lizards

The garden lizard that I shot, while it climbed on the Neem tree, in front of our home, doesn’t seem to be the same (in the picture below) I encountered earlier. I saw a garden lizard in the courtyard few months back and while I was watching it, another came from a direction and both started to fight each other. Standing on the rear legs, and in the support of their tail they clashed using their front limbs. I was quite amazed at the sight as I never seen garden lizards fighting. Not liked to miss the chance, I rushed inside to take the camera but when I was back both decided to separate and moved on their way and I could only shoot/focus on one to let other escape.

During the childhood, when visiting the village I have seen boys trying to catch the garden lizards along the fences, using a knot at the end of a thin stick and try to fasten the neck of the lizard... though I haven’t seen one being caught by them, I find it memorable. It is also fun to watch the garden lizards doing push ups like men work out at the gym – a study say that lizards doing push-ups mean display of strength and indication of get out of my territory.

P.S. The northeast monsoon is here, the earth becomes cooler and moister in weather. Downpour in Chennai makes us all feel happy and cheerful due to the showering.

Linking this post with SATURDAY CRITTERS

Love Lit

Eyes closed, when lips enclose
at the end of love proposal.
Nothing matters, when the hearts
weld in the warmth of hug.
Life blooms, when the love essence
spring within burble.
Autumn colors, when thus fall
into either dream.
Let the dream come true.
Light glow the end of tunnel! 

Fence and Flowers - Torch Lily

Kniphofia is the scientific name of the Torch Lily (which also known as Tritom and Red Hot Poker due to the shape and color of its inflorescence) I found near Ooty, across a chain link fence. The flowering plants are native to Africa and have narrow, grass-like leaves that reminiscent of a lily, and the flower head can reach up to 1.52 m in height. There are many varieties of touch lily and they bloom at different times during the growing season and comprise flowers color in red, orange and yellow, often bi-colored.

கனவு / Dream

pic courtesy: google

குழந்தைக்கும் எட்டும் கனி கனவு.

வயதுவரம்பின்றி அனைவருக்கும் வரும் கனவு.

கண்ணுக்கும் கனவுக்கும் சம்மந்தம் இல்லைஎன்றாலும்

பார்வைஇல்லதவர்க்கு? என்று வரும்பொழுது வியக்கிறது.

இரவிலும் இருளிலும் வரும் கனவுக்கு

பதில் என்னவோ வெளிச்சம் என்றாலும்

வெளிச்சத்தை கண்டிராதவருக்கு? என்று வரும்பொழுது

என் கனவுகள் தோற்றுபோகின்றன.

இருளில் விடிந்து இருளில் மறையும் உலகில்

இருளை மட்டும் அடிப்படையாக கொண்ட மனதில்

என்ன தோன்றும் என்பது என் கற்பனைக்கும் எட்டாது.

கனவுகள் மெய்பட என் வாழ்த்துகள்.

The fruit that even reaches a baby is dream.
Without age difference dream comes to everyone.
Although there’s no relation between eyes and dream
when it comes to those without vision? it wonders.

For the dream that comes in night and darkness
the answer maybe perhaps illuminated
but when it comes to those who never seen light?
My dreams become failure.

In a world where it dawn and end in darkness
for the mind that based only on the darkness
what appears to be doesn’t even reach my imagination.
Congratulations for the dreams to come true. 

Sunday Photos – Uthandi Beach

Couple of weeks back while on ECR, I come across Uthandi beach and spent some time on its peaceful and pretty clean ambience.  Uthandi beach exists (take left) with a km ahead to ECR toll gate, when coming from Chennai, and the beach comes to view at the end of VGP Uthandi Layout. The road to the beach was well laid in concrete and has a police booth at the entrance of the road and also bears barriers across the road to prevent speeding. The layout has moderate number of houses and bungalows to look beautiful and could see many taking walks along their pet dogs – perhaps, because of the strange feeling and loneliness and calm being.

It was about 5.45pm and the place was turning darker as sun hides opposite leaving little light for capturing image. I find the beach to be neatest and pretty clean, perhaps because of fewer visitors and frequented by local residents alone. The new beach also has restrooms to my amazement, with ramp facility and dustbins indicates to keep away trashes. I didn’t take my wheelchair but could experience the serene from inside the car with a desire to be there again on my wheelchair to explore the pretty lanes and houses. I also saw some wonderful gates and fences there, which i like to capture sometime for good fence meme. Hehe... 

wow... we got to see little beach crabs there (one left on car bonnet to shoot)

oo

Shooting Wood Fence

The lookalike country fence here was erected for a film shoot (Shanker’s “I”) and it was shot during my vacation to Kodaikanal in year 2013. The fence along a gate (click here) was pretty good and represents a real farmhouse entry and this location was shot in such a beautiful way in the movie I. The setting was put up on a little mound facing grasslands, pine and eucalyptus plantation/forest near Kavunji, about 35km from Kodaikanal. And Mannavanur is a place very close to this location, which has been shooting hub for many movies with rolling grasslands and sheep farm.

Linking this post for Run a Round Ranch's Good Fences

Tribute to Aachi Manorama

There are certain things happen unexpectedly and Aachi Manorama’s lose was such and she is a greatest Indian legendary actress and senior artist where no one in this word would have achieved like her. She’s the only actress in the world to be acted in more than 1500 films and 5,000 stage plays! I was thinking about Manorama’s contribution to Tamil cinema lately and was feeling grieve that no one took notice about her and truly wished that someone take a grand function for her when she was alive; commemorating her appearance in almost Indian languages and character that nothing left behind.  An amazement rise up every time thinking about her and I always think, apart being an actress she’s someone very special and no Indian actress would have received such recognition and withstood for a period of long time or more than 60 years in film industry.

pic courtesy: google

I think it is her base that kept her existed for record breaking years in film industry – the drama or theatre performances she continue to do beside her acting in movies.  As a mainstream comedian and character artist, she had done milestone performance in number of movies and in emotional and mother characters there was a time no one couldn’t defeat her or no films made without her.  There are number of films I admired her acting, but I haven’t been familiar with movies of her in earlier stage. Samsaram athu Minsaram, Paati Sollai Thattathea, Chinna Thambi, Chinna Gounder, Nadigan, Guru Sishyan, Kizakku Vaasal, Pangali, Thillana Mohanambal, Aboorva Sagotharangal, Savaal are some of her many films I enjoyed her role. Not only acting, she’s a wonderful singer and has sung about 300 songs and all her songs are super hit and her vocal is something distinct and standouts.

Though I feel there’s something absence in recognizing her presence while she alive, the crowd that gathered for her final procession towards the funeral is not everyone celebrates. In a decade, not a celebrity or artist gathered such crowd (after Sivaji’s demise in 2001) and almost Tamil cinema had paid their homage to her at her premises. The actress had acted with 5 Chief Ministers and her association with Chief Minister Jayalaitha, in cinema, is too close and her personal homage to her is quite appropriate and an honour that entitle everything. Though being an epic chairperson in acting her association with actors and public always seems to be simplest and her record doesn’t showcased anywhere and she lived a life that everyone will appreciate and adherence. She’s a role model to all actors’ esp. who wants to long stand in film industry and for an actor he/she should be ready to take any role rather doing only hero and heroine. Manorama has broken this practice and had done what she itself wouldn’t have expected. Until cinema/theatre is there, she will be alive in memories and film and digital rolls.