The RED dot !

From the ethnic Sarees,Salwars to Jeans, trousers and skirts my wardrobe is a perfect mix of Indian and western apparels. I believe in being fashionable yet modest in my dressing and so do most of us(I think so!). But, be it Indian or western wear i always prefer to wear a bindi on my forehead. I usually vary the sizes depending upon my outfit. For instance i would like to wear a small black dot on my forehead when in western wear.

Bindi- also known as pottu, tilak or tilakam is a forehead decoration worn in South Asia. Traditionally married Hindu women wear a bindi, whereas in the modern times it has become a decorative item among unmarried women as well. But many fashion folks prefer not to wear it when in western outfit. It is assumed that bindi does not go with western wear. Well, opinion differs from person to person.

I still remember...it was couple of months back, an Indian friend of mine exclaimed looking at me wearing a bindi with a western wear. She asked me with a mild chuckle "You wear it with jeans eh?". She laughed to hear me say that I love to wear it. She went off mumbling that it cannot go with jeans.

Well, the fact that bindi does not go with western wear is our assumption. Let me explain. Western wear, as the name indicates, these are outfits worn by people in the west(US/UK). They are predominantly Christians and hence do not wear a bindi. Of course, this is a aspect of western culture. This does not mean that anyone in western wear should transfigure themselves into western culture by giving up their own traditions/culture. I don't mean to say that all women from south Asia should always wear a bindi and safeguard their tradition. But one should give up the attitude that wearing bindi with western outfit is awful.

Another bitter truth about wearing a Bindi is that, a widow should not wear a bindi to indicate the loss of her husband to the society. I'm surprised to see that unimaginably conservative people still exist in the society.

Gautam Menon- The Choicest director of Kollywood

Kollywood seems to have revived some freshness after the arrival of the wizard, Gautham menon. The legend's showmanship is brimming in all his movies, be it the peppy Minnale, slick Kakkha Kakkha, cliff-hanging Vettayadu Vilayadu and pachaikili-muthucharam. His movies are well paced with a perfect blend of action,love and suspense. All these quiet obviously accounts for the dazzling openings of his block busters. Harris Jayaraj's mesemrizing music is a definite catalyst for his success. After all it is Harris's music that made Minnale reach the interors of Tamilnadu.
This man seems to ingrain the characters in the movie into the soul of the artists. The movie Kakha Kakha, a break through in Surya's career seems to have transfigured Surya into Anbuselvam's character. Also, no other director could blend Sharathkumar into such a vivid,manly role and setoff the actor in him. The movie Pachaikili muthucharam is certainly a milestone in Sharathkumar's acting career. Gautam's rosy heroin Jyotika has trebled the feather in her cap through her projects with this legend. She has travelled the extra mile through her stunning negative role in Pachaikili muthucharam....something for which other heroins would set their heart on. This man incredibly inspired by hollywood has his next project Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikaalam and Vaaranam Aayiram on the anvil. After Minnale he does not seem to like gaps between his movies.
No other directors would have added their commentary to a VCD of their movie(Atlease I haven't come across one). The magical man seems to break through all the conventions. Awesome would be a milder term to describe the commentary to his movie Kakha Kakha. It makes you feel the essence of his direction. I would say he is the choicest director in Kollywood after Maniratnam.

On the Christmas Day...

It was 25 Dec,2004....I was hanging around with my friends at the Besant nagar beach.

I was supposed to fly to abroad in a weeks time and hence had arranged for dinner for my friends at a restaurant in Besant nagar. It was Christmas day and the church close by was exhilarating with celebrations. There was happiness,fun everywhere. Amidst the Christmas celebrations we had a great dinner.

The restaurant was by the beach side. Obviously, we decided to drop by the beach after dinner and we did. We shopped petty things from the beach side shops. We dipped our feet in the shore and splashed water on each other. The Christmas celebrations, the chill breeze, friends, fun, laughter made that night aesthetically pleasing. Amidst the fun, an indefinable, strange exaltation was haunting me. I was not comfortable standing by the shore.I felt that the waves were unusually harsh !

After getting late we chose to leave home. As we walked away from the shore my friend pointed out to the moon. It was full ! Perhaps it was tidal waves that was harsh after all... i said to myself. I went back home cuddled myself under the warm blanket. I had a peaceful sleep...

Next day morning i woke up to hear the horror news that Tsunami struck southern India. It was only then I learnt what Tsunami is (A tsunami is a series of waves created when a body of water, such as an ocean, is rapidly displaced). I was horror-struck to know that hundreds were dead and that the place where we had our dinner last night was devastated by the giant wave. After all it was not just a tidal wave !!! I spent some moment in silence after hearing the horrifying news. The unfortunate incident taught me the meaning of life in a very bitter way.

Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.........and of course it is not the length of life that matters but the depth..

Yet another fable...

This should be the 100th time i'm getting to see a fable sitting in my mail box. I always had told my friends not to fall prey to such hoax emails. But invariably i get such emails from a new friend. Just read this story..

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to eke out a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.

"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.

"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.

"I'll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll grow to a man you can be proud of."

And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin. Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him?? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill. Someone once said what goes around comes around.

That was a inspiring story isn't? However inspiring, the story is not true. There are humpteen websites(like http://www.snopes.com/ ) to confirm the authenticity of stories which you hear from friends or receive as forwarded emails.