Rain..shine n a movie

Peace atlast in chennai…after a day’s rain on friday,the rains have stopped n today, te sun was out n blazin. Tis meant tat Zee Sports was able 2 telecast a day’s play atleast(An omnious start 2 its telecast monopoly).I had a gr8 time wit my school mate tis weeknd. Hari studied along wit me in cbe nn his parents 2 shifted 2 chennai after he finished his +2. v usually meet durin the hols n vacations or i drop in at cbe for cpla days. V usually meet at spencers n tis time it was no different. For non tn ppl, spencers is te place 2 hang out in chennai. U can hve as much fun as possible without spending a single paisa. But u can also splurge out as much as u want. We usually meet at landmark n after a tour of all te shops. Women mite call it window shoppin but v nvr look at te things on display.The only things worth looking tere r te books at landmark n te gals. Poor shopkeepers! Out of 100 ppl who whiz past these shops, hardly 10 visit thier stores n 2 or 3 buyin sometin. U got all sorts of food outlets there wit bhel puri being sold at 15 bucks at one place n 50 at another. After cpla hours at landmark debating over hitler, gabriel garcia marquez’s latest book n arguing over dada’s records n google’ future, we move 2 te food court. First thing tat came 2 mymindz sick. I like eating peacefully. After a quick bite of franky n walkin thro te same corridors, past te same shops, v finally make it 2 Java Green whr v hve a gr8 cuppa coffee n then havin more junk food all over te place, v decide 2 head bak home. Then came te call from my mom which made us jump into an auto asap. Mom told me tat cpla bridges n canals had broken apart n chennai was all but submerged. The eternal source of info, te auto driver, told us tat some canal had broken but it was 35 kms away from chennai. Tis wat i call overhypification n i got one more reason not 2 watch sun news. Man, all kno tat chennai is reeling under floods but one shd watch sun news: CMs a reincarnation of nero(who fiddled when rome was burnin) n chennai is just days away from bcomin history n TN wud b wiped out of the map in cpla months!
How do u feel when everythin tat u had planned goes awry and yet ur happy wit the outcome?Exhilarating?tas wat happened today. Me n my frnz(sap, ponds n harish) had planned 2 eat at spencers at te xpense of a senior. But the senior fell ill n v had 2 fend for ourselves n our pockets vr busted. So wit things not goin as planned, v decided 2 go straight 2 te movie theatre n watch “Kanda Naal Mudhal”. Heard lots abt it esp wit a gr8 techie crew. But v got into te wrong theatre n ten went 2 another theatre n ten satyam. By te time v reachd satyam, no tickets vr available. Satyam has tis wierd policy whr in each movie starts at different time. The only other good movie running there was HP4:te GOF. me n my frnd r potter maniacs n had actually made advance bookings wit our frnz for te coming week. But te opportunity was too temptin n v decide 2 watch it despite missin te first 15 mins. V had been plannin 2 watch it ever since v came 2 chennai but te floods meant tat our plans vr at bay. Movie review: Best of the four potter movies. I guess my review wud b pretty much similar to all te review available online..

Rain rain everywhere…

The hols tis time hav been very different,very very strange too. First of all, the sun is not shining. Its been raining all over the place. Theres no cry for water scarcity. The cry of chennaiites has been aswered n the ever generous God hasnt stopped showering them with His elixir. The heat was one major irritant before. People got irritated over trivial things. Each and every thing had a sinking feeling. There was a general sense of discord and tension among people. As if everyone wanted to drink other’s blood to quench his or her thirst. The rain has driven away all such disliking. Auto drivers dint chase me till i got into a bus, the conductor did accept a 10 rs note. Wats happenin 2 chennai?
So wat am I doing now? Stuck between four walls because of rain, I am reading Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. I had attempted Fountainhead before but I think I was too young then to grasp wat it offered. Actually my introduction to Ayn Rand had been thro ugh a Ist year friend of mine. He offered me a book which contained her unfinished or crap short stories. Things which she had written before her success. It was not very impressive though I did like Fountainhead to an extent. But I stopped midway. Even Atlas Shrugged I wud have done the same a lot many times. Except I realised that it does have more to offer than just 1000 pages of love, lust and greed. I do like the book and am reading it with a kind of interest which has never been there since I finished reading “I met a lady” by Howard Spring. Also, I had read Ayn Rand’s “Night of January 16th”, a Broadway drama. The plot is very much the same in all her writings: Two lovers who are too greedy,lost in love for each other, highly principled and care nothing but a damn for people around them. In short representing the evils of capitalism. The people around them try their best to destroy them. The ironic fact is that these people use the communist principles of equality of labor et al to revive Free Economy! What a shame! I have just finished 350 pages so it will b quite a while before i can write a decent review.

And I have attempted a few changes to da Blog. I liked tis template becos its just the perfect background for my kinda writing: Evening, after work hours n all u want to do is to discuss te day wit someone over a cup of hot coffee…Constructive comments r welcome.

4 days in chennai

Its been 4 days since te Mail from Mangaloore 2 Chenaii reachd the Central at 6:15 in te mornin with me n te Boka(Bengalis) eager 2 jump out of te s3 coach. The train had actually come 15 mins earlier 2 te perambur station. Then it stopped there for 30 min so tat it cud reach central at te rite time. I had come with plans up my sleeve to hve a holiday quite different from te ones which i hve till now. There vr two major differences. The computer in my home sucks big time now and my grandparents had come from kolkata 2 b with me.

The hols began promisingly with guests droppin in. Chennai is filled wit my relatives.From shollinganallur 2 tambaram, theres someone or te other in every street. Once in my second year, I had come home for te onam hols. I was walkin on te St. Mary’s road in Mandaveli when someone came up 2 me n asked “Nee Muthu payen thaane?”(Arent u Muthu’s son?) I explore my options:
Option no 1: Shake hands n look up wit respect n “Hello..eppidi irukkel?(very elder)
Option no 2: Act as if shocked n again te respect n ” Enna Mama(or Attai or chitti or…)Evalo Naal Aachu !”(Somewat elderly)
Option no 3: “Unga Aathukka thaan varalaanu irunthen”(10+years elder)
Option no 4:”Hello da..Ennada..enna pannara?”(Ur age)
Option no 5: Marked indifference n “Enda veetikey varalla..Amma sollaleya?”(Kid)

Since he was very elderly, I shook hands n answered. He seemed 2 hve understood my predi cament n told me how hes related 2 my dad. I felt relieved n he asked me 2 come 2 his house sometime. I said “Ok…nichiyama” n got away from there.

During my first year summer hols, I invited my college frnz 2 my house n v wnt out for my bday treat. I had already told them abt my relatives in the area n they all teased me since i had 2 b “very careful” n don get into trouble. Tis meant tat even b4 i look at any gal on the street, i had 2 b sure tat shes not my relative! V vr walkin near the mylapore tank when all of a sudden,a 40+ couple approach us. One of my frnz who had come from madurai for tis treat hid behind me. I understood. Its his uncle n aunt! He went forward n used option no1. He had a hard time pacifyin them since he always stayed in their home whenever he came 2 chennai n tis time he had come without even informing them. The others had a tuf time controlling their laughter.My frnd then said “Mama, Kandippa Aathukku varen”(Uncle, I wil surely come 2 ur house). His uncle’s face was red with anger n replied “Poda…College onna romba maathirichu…”(College has changed u a lot).He somehow managed them n came bak 2 whr we were. He then told “Dey machcha, ippo puriyidhu da..”(I can understand ur problem now)

And then tere r weddings.Especially durin the summer hols. Its like the london bus stop theory: Sometimes u will have 4 or 5 buses n sometimes none. Usually teres a shortage of muhurthams. So everyone ends up gettin married on te same day. That means: reception at one place, mapillaiayeppu at one, nxt day muhurtham at another. The catch is tat u end up spending more on travelling+gifts+misc than wat ppl spending on weddin itself! Its fun if there r good no of cousins around. Else it will b an alltime bore. U end up watchin the same thing again n again n wondering wats te use of ur presence there!

So wat have I done during this four days?
Wake up at 9, Get into some fight or the other wit my sis, complain abt te food 2 my mom n get scoldings in return, tell te same thing abt my col 2 whoever comes 2 my house,”College has 8 hostels, food is very bad, it rains there very often, its quite cold there, i will b stayin till 11th,shall defy come 2 ur house tis time.” Argue with my dad abt my monthly expenses n my daily sleeping habits, try as far as possible 2 control my anger while watchin umpteen mega serials. The only thing of some note has been readin “Atlas shrugged” by Ayn Rand. Good read n filled wit lot of things tat one can learn from.

Btw, who is John Galt?