Kodi

There are many films with political scenario, but I think for the first time a movie portrayed a woman politician was Kodi, though Dhanush led the movie and plays the title role. Kodi comes out as a mass political entertainer and to keep things interesting, Dhanush led a double role as elder and younger brother and Trisha as his opposite, as well as opponent, made certain its sound victory.

Growing up with equal status in politics, Rudhra and Kodi make their political carrier with their parties being opposite to each other, they hold affaire secretly away from the politics. Though both being passionate in their political carrier, Rudhra is bit further in upgrading her status and ready to go any extreme to fulfil her dreams whereas Kodi seeks straight forward and true to his love. How this differentiation mingles makes the movie.

Movies with equal importance to opposite gender aren’t frequent, and Kodi generated the theme well using the strong characterization of Rudhra (Trisha) and this could be a milestone role for Trisha who had done number of films. For the smart looking actress, the negative shade is quite new and for most of scenes she appears in her natural tone.  Dhanush, as usual becomes the show stealer and this time in two characters shown the variation well and worked simply.

With two back to back hits (Ethir Neechal and Kakki Sattai), director R.S. Durai Senthilkumar has sustain his success with Kodi, having  a fast paced screenplay boredom has kept away. Though we sense dullness in picturization, perhaps due to the condition of weather or mistake in display at the drive-in theatre, and the story being not unpredictable there are some twist to keep it interesting.

Kodi also highlights the issue of toxic mercury waste (that threatens the pristine of Kodaikanal) but it was just a matter of fact and doesn’t take serious foot. Santhosh Narayanan’s composition has supported the movie at its best and I liked the songs that make nice listening and intertwine the subject.   Anupama Parameswaran makes a cute presence as second heroine and S.A. Chandrasekhar’s role as Thalaivar (leader) done with honor.

Overall, Kodi well flew among the Deepavali release and could be watch with family

Sunday Photos: Deepavali Snacks, Murukku

Murukku is a traditional south Indian food/snack and it can either brought from the store or homemade using rice flour, fried gram and butter as main ingredient. Alike every year, this year too we made Murukku (along with Adhirasam – a traditional sweet) at home during the Deepavali, where one evening mom and aunt sat on the floor for preparing the same and I used the opportunity to take some photos on the process.  Making sweets and snacks is a custom for us or we practice during Deepavali and distributing it to our relatives, friends and neighbors as a sign of sharing our festival spirit.  

The flour is filled on the Murukku maker – a vessel, where flour being pressed (using a handle on top) to get strings of dough through small holes at the bottom. Just like in the photo below.

A circular layer of Murukku (after swirling strings of dough) on the ladle before drop into the hot oil boils in the pan, to get a view as below.

The Murukku get fried after two or three twist and turns in the hot oil in the pan, and once turned deep yellow or orange is lifted using a stainless steel stick like the process below.

 

Two to three Murukku can be fried at a time and is left on the paper for some time to let it absorb the excess oil. And then stored in enclosed box and distribute later  

Immortality Re-blooming

Being a follower of Betsy’s Joyful Reflections, I have admired the beauty of Iris bloomed in various colors and patterns, many a time in her blog. I have been to mountains many a time, and have seen variety of fancy flowers bloomed in the gardens and cottages we have stayed, but I ever seen an Iris until last year when I visited Cloud Mountain.

I was really amused to find a White Iris bloomed in the courtyard of the guest house we stayed in the Cloud Mountain. One side of the huge courtyard has a flower bed lined by some beautiful flowering plants and the White Iris was the only blossom from the few Iris plants grown as cluster of leaves.

Iris is a perennial plant grows from bulb and usually has 3-10 basal sword-shaped leaves growing in dense clumps. The flowers are in the shape of a fan and contain one or more symmetrical six-lobed flowers. The three sepals, which are usually spreading or droop downwards, are referred to as falls.

The Iris I capture seems to be Immortality Re-blooming or Bearded Iris boasts of pure white petals with a lemon beard (a tuft of short upright extensions growing in its mid-line), which are the plants filaments. Iris is a name derived from the Greek word for a rainbow, which is also the name for the Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris.

Linking this post with Floral Friday Foto 

Deepavali 2016 – Up and Downcast

This year’s Deepavali wasn’t bad but I was disappointed in many ways. First thing was I was unable to get out of the house, taking a glance at the neighbourhood’s Deepavali celebration, because of the preventive action (for rainwater) taking place at the premises that blocked the gateway for my wheelchair to pass on. Only 2013 Deepavali went off quite inside the house due to my fracture in leg and now I was fine but the situation turned against me to ban me coming out of the house. I ordered some fireworks at online and had fun watching them lighting up in the evening with the help of one of my uncle who had come home and I took his company and thus it kept away my lonesome celebration.  Though I didn’t expect my cousins to greet me on the occasion or share the moment (I believe expectation is the main reason for disappointment, but that’s not mean not at all to expect), there’s something make me frustrated about their lack of present or interest showing up during the festival of lights.

I know attitudes/priorities change as people grow and expose to various things, but I strongly believe that festivals and special occasions are created for people to come together and experience the happiness by sharing. I believe sharing is the concept behind everything and meaning of life is truly depended on something sharing. Though there are lonesome occasions to enjoy our solitude and to do things that quite independent, there’s always someone to support each other and look forward to lead happy relationship. We had brought nothing to take away, but I know, to live we need to hold on and relationship is one strong hold that keep us supporting wherever we go. The relationship I mean here is beyond family relation and I have come to see life beyond a circle where connectivity and sharing happening between people who doesn’t need to be our relatives or friends.  

The passed 2016 Deepavali left a notion in me to find things and happiness using my self-intention and interest with people available, either they hold a similar perception or not. Though this is not the first time I come to a conclusion alike and I’m one easily melt away however strong iceberg I am. Lol. There are certain things we could sacrifice or adjust to lead a relationship but not with one      who couldn’t consider or remind about a relationship exists. We haven’t come into this world without anyone’s support and there had been people at our various stages of life, we perhaps forget some or some missed away from sight or contact, but there should be someone dear or closely connected with whom sharing becomes imperative. Though we can’t force anybody to sustain in relationship, but missing someone during special occasion hurts and it really needn’t to be exposed because it hurts more when they refused directly.

I know I began somewhere and end here. Anyway I had a wonderful Deepavali and the happiness   sharing sweets with few neighbors, and lighting fireworks and the company of my uncle and spending time on television makes feel good. This year the noise of crackers has been less, thanks to the awareness of people, but still our neighborhood burst heavy and made more smokes to prevent us coming out of home. I hold interest more on fireworks that turn sky with magnificent light and colors. Below is few shots just  took for fun using firework sparkles.

Fireworks i purchased online

Preventive Action

The rains are on the way to Chennai with monsoon supposed to pick up in few days; the work on prevention of rainwater to flood has been going on for last two days at our house. Glad the owners of our row houses decided, at last, to take preventing measures to keep away the rainwater entering the houses has made us all breathe easy and also drops our  plan of shifting house. We have informed our landlord that we’re shifting house this month end and were also almost confirmed a house in the same street, but for some unknown reason  they denied renting their home and we were looking some other ones. At the same time the tenant of the other house in the row urged their house owner (who connected with other two) to make certain the rainwater doesn’t flood the homes and work started within a week of discussion made hold our plan.

People know that last year’s monsoon turned out to be a disaster and we were not ready to take risk by believing it won’t rain that much… although it isn’t certain of any kind, precaution has been the only way. We were disappointed with the landlord of ours when they haven’t take a step in preventing the food even after the torrential rains stopped and moreover haven’t take a look into the home to examine the damages. So we had no hope on them making arrangement for preventing water, but thanks to our next-door tenant and because of his pressure they come together for a solution. And as an initial step they are building a ramp in front of the house to block road water entering the premises and reconstructed a wall that was damaged. The drainage system is also supposed to rise and talk with corporation people has been put forward. 

It seems like I could not come out of the house for next few days until the work completes. Just a  day left for Deepavali, the festival of lights, it looks like the celebration is restrain within our premises and I think I’m going to miss going out in nights during the Diwali to watch fireworks ignited in the neighborhood. Though it gives me slight disappointment, I understand the importance of the preventive action which is indeed significant than any other. I really couldn’t believe things happening on our favor, because the landlord side wasn’t bit hopeful towards us to continue our stay at this house that’s comfort at many ways. The flood water (during rainy season) has been the only trouble for us at this house, and if it was solved there isn’t a problem to sustain though there are some which is adjustable. 

My festival greetings to all those celebrate Deepavali. 

கைபேசி / Handset

இன்றைய காலகட்டத்தில்

வாழ்கை துணையை விட

கைபேசி உடனான நெருக்கமே அதிகம்.                                                       

நேரடி உறவுகளை மறந்து,

மறைந்து, மறைத்து  

மெய்நிகரான வாழ்வோடு ஒன்றினோம்.

At present time period
more than a life partner
the intimacy with handset is much.

Forgetting the direct relationship,
hide, and hidden
united with the virtually made life. 

Sunday Photos: Beach Sight

Last evening I visited Palavakkam beach and spent some time quenching the thirst for some cool breeze and change of sight. During our stay in Thiruvanmiyur I frequent this beach in south Chennai, but now in Adyar its bit far checking out. It’s really good to see it pretty clean all these days and also becoming popular among locals to hang-out on weekends. I took some photos during the time of relaxing and here it goes: 

Since the evening was cloudy the sunset was pretty mild and boys where playing cricket in the foreground. 

Some pretty houses line the beach front across the sandy playground… which is also the part of the beach.

Soan papdi vendor and the push cart neat the water front  

Sundal  boy! Sundal is a kind of recipe made in white peas and sold as a popular snack in Chennai beaches.

Cotton candy man 

Oct 17

Like how a wound may heal but not the scar. Three years had passed since I got fracture in leg but the scar continues to bother me invisibly and indirectly. No, I have no issues with the fractured leg but the loss of the ability to stand has affected me at various levels. I really don’t want to think about the ever painful days of my life and passing each day had been an eon then until the fracture healed and knee become flexible. My inability to stand affected my travel a lot and I am depended beyond my parents to put me into the car and having an SUV it’s quite difficult. Thought I’m looking forward for a remedy by exchanging our car, the inability to stand put me down on other sides too.

I believe it’s perhaps because of the loss of the standing position I experience scoliosis, due to sitting most of the day time unlike early where I used to stand for few ministers daily when transferred from once place to another. I know even if I continued to stand the scoliosis is unavoidable at later stage of muscular dystrophy, so I would say the fracture has brought steps forward reaching this position early. In last three years my travel has come down with limited distance travel and access and transferring becomes easy only with two people at aid. Many of my plans were shattered in few seconds of that slip between the bath stool and wheelchair, and the unexpected incident had made my life very difficult in many ways. I started to use traction belt for my pelvic pain and scoliosis, daily for an hour and I’m still looking for a lateral support for my curvature.

RGB Monday

A colourful Ice Gola cart @ Elliot beach, Chennai

Last week I check Elliot beach and find this cart/vendor selling ice creams in not only different colors, but also named it as Ice Gola instead of Ice cream. I really don’t know the meaning of Gola and the flavors the vendor listed doesn’t seem to be natural color or taste. I watched him arranging the color bottles taking out of the box beneath and I also noticed him smashing ices and filling the icebox beside the bottles.

I was looking forward to see how the vendor makes Ice Gola, but no one came buying it until I was there. Maybe I was too early there and left before many people turned to beach.  It was a weekday and expecting people is not possible. Meanwhile, I enjoyed kfc chicken popcorn while waiting for my dad to come back from his routine walk. 

Babysitting monkey

Our neighborhood in Adyar (Chennai) has canopy of trees and it provides shelter to many critter, including monkeys that intrude the same. Monkeys had been our company for last few years after we shifted back to our former resident area, Adyar. They come around our residence with no prior schedule, and if we were inattentive they are ready to carry away anything that’s possible, and mostly it’s the fruits that kept on the dining table. We couldn’t put dry anything, no matter what; they come and scatter away before we become alert.

The photos here were shot last year when one of monkey’s hangout with its babe on the compound wall next to ours. The baby monkeys (there were about four monkeys babysitting then) had grown now and joined the invading group to bang the neighborhood. In the picture above you could see   the tiny hand of the baby monkey holding his/her mom from before. Words fail to describe.  

Linking this post with SATURDAY CRITTERS

Church and Fence

Valparai, near Coimbatore, is a green carpet of Tamil Nadu due to its abundant tea plantation and rolling grasslands.  Each tea estate there has a small settlement that provides basic amenities to their employers including places of religious worship like temples and churches.

Each estate has a temple and church built in simple yet beautiful and colorful structure to capture our attention. But the church above stood opposite to our relative’s house in Valparai town at the residential area of the same. Named as St. Luke's R.C. Syrian Church, has a beautiful architecture that slightly lookalike crown and interesting steeple design beside the bell tower.

My first time visit to Valparai happened during Christmas time and this church was decorated by serial lights that continued to illuminate throughout the nights. They had also built a birth of Christ that was wonderful checking out… but accidentally all the photos taken that night was erased from camera and I even lost my DVD that hold my initial trip to Valparai in 2008. The above ones are shot in 2014 and I also liked the fence (with flowers) built upon the compound wall around the church. 

Linking this post for Good Fences by Run a Round Ranch

A brother of neighborhood

A long time neighbor
last breathed at his hometown
during a visit to same.

A fortuity that not many obtain;
for his fairness and mildness
what happened seems his favor.

It’s coincide, that we discussed abt. him
only the night before sleeping
and early to his demise.

Two generations old relationship
is no more, but his helping tend
and inclination will keep inspiring.

A relationship beyond religion/belief;
called as brother, rightfully by all
would describe his deed.

A politician with ever seen integrity
though a party speaker, the soft spoken
is approachable at any time to obtain aid.

Personally, perhaps, my first bike ride
is executed in company of him
at any state; he disagreed to greet us.

Being neighbors disjoined by walls
our closeness doesn’t need proof
and his privilege encloses everything. 

Fiction

Alike a cradle
rather strings attached, secures
the moon across sky

That’s calm and uncool
was haunted by bats, trying
to battle down moon.

In the twilight hour
waked up from asleep, the bats
influence fiction.

PS. Though titled fiction, the haiku was inspired by the evening sight outside my home. Pic courtesy: google

Village Fence

A village fence, which was built to guard their houses, also plays a role of hanger where they put cloths for dry.

Pictures were captured at Mannavanur, a mountain village near Kodaikanal that overlooks rolling grassland and another side with terrace farming. Due to great source of meadow wild bison (Indian guar) frequent this area and thus also called as bison valley.

The houses here mostly seemed to build using clay mud and bricks and roofs thatched in iron sheets, which I perhaps believe is to withstand the cold weather and mountain terrain. 

Linking  this post for Good Fences  by Run a Round Ranch

RGB Monday

A colorful temple tower

click for enlarge

The unknown and look alike newly painted temple was shot at the heart of the holy city, Kanchipuram, last month when attending a cousin’s marriage. The city has number of temples and this temple tower in showy appearance caught my attention easily when slowly moved in traffic. 

A flood trail

December 2015 won’t be easily forgettable for Chennaities, the historical rain and flood that hit our city and let almost floating. Many lives lost and properties washed away and submerged in the torrential rain/flood and overflown rivers. Though government took action in rescuing and protecting people, the volunteers, almost youth’s partake was praiseworthy and transformed their perception overall. But the post actions haven’t been same and satisfactory, no; I am not about youths, I know they continued to work on the flood effect even after things turn normal. The government side is completely dumb, and I could see no stone was unturned and what the situation was before the disaster rain continues to be same even after the terrible lesson.

(pool  of water in front of home)

Following December rain/flood there wasn’t moderate to heavy rains in Chennai until some heavy spells in summer (May) and few downpours in September, including the 80 mm of rain that created pool in front of our home, a day before yesterday. The water rose to the edge of our doorstep with few centimeters to enter home, thankfully the rain recedes and ceased later to repeat not a situation like December. Interestingly, this year becomes the wettest September in last 20 years and it seems few more downpours could have defeated 200 years record in Chennai. These days an uncertainty kept checking us every time it rains, perhaps because of the change in its pattern of showering. After the December torrential rain, I observed it wasn’t raining normally, slowly and steadily, but shower altogether or a total fall.

The northeast monsoon is yet to begin but what precaution steps were taken was nothing to point out.  We’re in a situation where nature has turned incredibly unpredictable and the weathermen’s warning to expect unexpected proves we are certainly living in an uncertain condition and without any precaution we are to suffer for sure in case of abundant rain. The vital part of the city, the storm water drains aren’t dredged properly, at least in part of the city we live. What kind of action has taken on the encroachments around the rivers and lake beds are apparently back to their places after water recedes. The water levels at the reservoirs around the city were almost gone down, but no sign of dredging or deepening to increase its capacity which could save water as well preserve people from flood.

Moreover the situation has sent us to constant turmoil whether to move out of this home or take risk by staying over here. We are in hunt for house already and were very conscious not to make a mistake again by choosing a house that prone to flood and rain. During the torrential rains in Nov and Dec, last year, we suffered a lot by moving up and down, and washing the home more than couple of times and arranging things once every flood recedes. We were almost close to the situation on the day before yesterday and if the rain hasn’t receded we would have forced to move out. Unlike early, the water doesn’t took time to recede, but still the storm water drains aren’t rectified to allow abundant water and the drains are almost went underground, thanks to the elevated concrete road, which is the main reason for the water to enter homes. One thing for sure, the fears of flood haven’t exit but still we go through bare hands.