More of Dinamalar

Shouldn't this news filed under "பிரச்னைகள்" here be actually filed under "முக்கிய செய்திகள் "?

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code

From Dinamalar today,
"இர்பான் பதானுக்கும், யூசுப் பதானுக்கும் திருமணம் செய்ய அவரது பெற்றோர்கள் யோசித்து வருகின்றனர். இதற்காக அவர்கள் வசிக்கும் வீடு விரிவுபடுத் தப்பட்டு வருகிறது"
Huh, do their parents accept it really? Have we Indians become that progressive, and broadminded? Does Dinamalar aggressively support the bold part? Do they really "hold this up" in the wedding? (I couldnt avoid the pun - however bad it is...hee hee hee...sorry)
Something the journos write, without understanding the implication....
That's why Kabali Ka Dosth said someday "தமிழ் ரொம்ப நுணுக்கமான மொழி, பார்த்து உபயோகிக்கணும்"

Walk the Talk, Run for Fun - Day 8

Because of a too long a break I took, I could just 5 rounds in the 500m trail - 3 rounds of walking and 2 rounds of jogging. It had me gasping for breath already, and I stopped and came home. Tomorrow is my hope to get back into atleast 8 rounds. Once again, next 4 days after that, there is little scope for me to run - 2 days I am off to Management Offsite at our office, 1 day of my returning back and 1 day of festivity (Ganesh Chaturthi). I need to atleast make up with Nordic Walking - minus the ski poles!

Walk the Talk, Run for Fun - Day 7

Nothing to add. It rained. My son didnt go to school. So two excuses combined into one big reason for not doing this on Day 7. Bad!

Yahoo...its official

Oh yes...I think I am officially out of the long-term blogstipation ; and require some adjustment and that should explain my 4th post of the day today and the 5 posts in the immediate past...some bit of bloggorhea...kindly excuse!
I would like to recall the famous heart-touching philosophical lyrics that has been a life-changer for me, as an inspiration for this bloggorhea, from Student No:1
"varaamalay poga mudiyuma,
vandhuvitta nirutha mudiyala"

I am scared...

...after watching "Anu Alavum Bayam Illai" - the new (dur)reality show on the Vijay TV. Instead of looking as an inspired show like from AXN's "Fear Factor", this looks more like a spoof of it. To put it crudely, this looks like the Action Stunt's Lollu Sabha.
if only had you watched the episode of crossing the 4 boats, you would know what I mean!
Takeshi's Castle on Pogo TV is much better!

Walk the Talk, Run for Fun - Day 6

Nothing to update; I slept off till 9.30am...and got into a vetty conversation with a neighbour for 30 mins...Damn Me :-(

L. Kishore Kumar - Sitar Musician

It was a very proud moment for me to watch my dear friend from Loyola College days, Shri L. Kishore Kumar sharing the dais with esteemed playback singer Shri S. P. Balasubrahmanyam as a judge in Hamam Nalangu Maavu - Ennodu Paattu Paadungal. He is the son of veteran music director Shri T. G. Lingappa - no more alive - who has composed some immemorable songs like "Kaana inbam kaninthatheno", "Chithiram Pesuthadi" "Onnula Irunthu Irubathu Varaikkum kondattam" and many more in Kannada and Telugu. But Kishore struggled a lot to establish himself as a Musician in the Cine field. He wanted to create a unique name for himself, and not linger under the shadows of his father's pride.
He is today a well-known Sitar Player in the Cine Field. He has composed under several great musicians of today. If I remember correctly, he is one of the very few in the South Indian Cine field who can also play a "Sarangi"
Yeah, how do I know him? He was my class mate more than a decade ago in the Loyola College - Statistics Department, "P" batch - if that means something to someone. We were good friends, and managed to maintain our friendship even after so many days, and after being in different fields. Some of the uniting factors for us: mutual respect for our talents, similar tastes in music appreciation, losing dad at an early age, inheriting diabetes from the Father, simple and humble lifehood, being in mylapore, nageswara rao park walks...
The significant part ofour friendship nurturing dates back to college days, when we would go to Kapaleeswarar Temple and spend time chatting up for a long time. (And another routine that nurtured my friendship with yet another great friend Lakshminarasimhan is - long walks in the Marina Beach on sundays, and spending hours of chatting). These are some of my self-awareness growing years, and these two played a significant role at that point of time.
A very unassuming, and highly approachable person he is; and he is extremely talented in his chosen field. May God and wishes from elderly musicians and from his father, take him to good heights in his chosen career. I am so happy to write this post.

Helmets are meant for menial Public you and me..

...of course it is legal for POLICEMEN near VIP areas like Chief Minister House and Opposition Party Leaders House to streak down without a helmet;

Clicked on August 12 2009 @ 4.15pm

Vehicle No: TN 09 V 6355

Location: The street cutting off TTK Road, Alwarpet, and leading into CIT Colony; the road straight goes and cuts left and right. Few meters away on the right is a VVIP house.

Clicked on July 25 2009 @ 4.26pm

Vehicle No: TN 01 R 4601

Location: Cathedral Road, outside Stella Maris, near Poes Garden; again a VVIP area

Of course, the idea and issue about safety, and the traffic laws are applicable only to menial public you and me.

Ignorance of Law is not an excuse, then what will ignoring of the law entail? I feel absolutely safe and happy living amidst such law-protectors...of course, long back, my spine has been extracted in a special procedure so as to accept myself as part of this Generation!

Walk the Talk, Run for Fun - Day 5

Yay! Not only could I sustain Day 3, I could do extra.
Covered 6 rounds of walking on 500m trail, and 1 round of walking on the 250m trail
Covered 2 rounds of jogging on 500m trail, and i round of jogging on the 250m trail
In all, covered 4.5 kms today. Yes!!!

Walk the Talk, Run for Fun - Day 4

I coudlnt do the intended sustenance run of Day-3. Because I woke up late. Reason for waking up late is because, the kids didnt have school. When I woke up, I din't have the mood to go for a walk/jog. By the time, I pepped myself up, it was hot in the morning.
Later, i covered about 2kms in walking by going up to Kapali Temple Market, and purchasing few stuffs for the Janmashtami celebrations. The stuffs that would guarantee yummy bakshanams. The main ingredient I got was Butter (oothukuli)...yum yum, so lip smacking...
Of course, in the evening I got yummy snacks - murukku, omam podi, ribbon bakkoda, cheedai and vella cheddai
Good, let me see for Day 5. I doubt if I will be able to do the Day 3 sustenance, given all the lip smacking, fat inducing, oily snacks to be devoured

Walk the Talk, Run for Fun - Day 3

Yes, I did it...5 rounds of walking and 1 round of jogging in the 500m trail. Tomorrow it is the sustenance of Day-3 levels...

Walk the Talk, Run for Fun - Day 2

Day 2; I took my scooter to first measure the 7km trail around in Mylapore; I was so shocked to find out that the route covering Luz Church Road, De Silva Road, entire stretch C. P. Ramaswamy road, St. Marys Road turning towards Crean Center, the road joining near Hotel Sangeetha, and all the way upto the Axis Bank, was just 2.5kms. This means I need to go from my home, and maybe up to the Boat Club of Adyar and return back. Else, I could try going up to the Beach and walk back. Either route will be densely trafficked during the time I commence my so-called walking. So, I decided I will right now stick to NageswarRao Park, and to avoid boredom will have MP3 player and listening to songs.
SO Began Day 2 Trail:
4 rounds (2kms) only I could do; because it was already 830, and had to get home to help get my daughter ready for school. I did one single jog of the 250m trail, though I wanted to try 2 rounds; stopped with one, as I didnt want to push the endurance limits on Day 2 itself. Also, I was getting late.
So for Day 3, agenda is to cover 5 rounds of walking (for 500m trail) and 1 round of jogging on the same 500m trail. But, make this timebound - 750am to 830am; i will cut short one of them, if I am unable to cover anything in the designated timing.

Walk the talk, Run for Fun - Day 1

Nageswara rao Park walkers path has 2 trails - one for 500m, another for 250m;
Goal is to cover 7km as walk first, then as jogging and ultimately start running.
Yesterday was Day 1; walked for 4 rounds on the 500m trail; jogged once in the 250m trail.
Am used to walking distances of 3-4km in one shot,but not run or jog.
Jogging was a different experience altogether. My entire innards were jumping and was also feeling heavy. But since it is just 250m, thankfully I was able to endure it; i was not gasping for breath or anything. However, I wasn't too enthusiastic to try endurance level again.
Thats it for Day one!
For Day 2, I intend trying out road route for 3.5kms walk, so that I know the distance coverage. Sometimes it becomes boring just inside the park to cover 14 rounds (7 kms coverage), so I wanted to hcekc out roadside.

Chevrolet Spark, 10m-10k :-)

Just 10 months ago, I acquired my Chevy Spark LS for a good sum of Rs 3.35L, spent additional 11k for the music system; for one month, used call driver services, I figured out I wasn’t enjoying my car drives, simply because I don’t stop wherever I want to and whenever I want to. Regardless of scratches and dents, I needed to start driving, and I did manage to get scratches on all four sides of the car, and a huge dent while backing out of our parking lot. That didn’t deter me.
Today I clocked 10000km on my odometer, and it was a proud moment for me. Just right, few feet away from Vijayanagar Traffic Junction. Best part of it being the lovely Chevy Spark LS, icy blue metallic, hasn’t let me down once so far. Done 3 long drives – Pondicherry, Bangalore and Tranquebar, apart from various mini-long trips to Siruseri.
Chevy has delivered excellent value for money through my Spark; I was unable to pinpoint any specific problems to fix during any of my service. I just stuck to same old rhetoric “low mileage, gear shift problem” though both didn’t really exist. Spark gives me 12-13 in AC inside city, 16-17 in AC on highways, 13-14 non-AC in city, 18-19 on highways…I would say good mileage, definitely;
Engine doesn’t make noise, I don’t have to really stand on accelerator to get a good speed, AC is good. When I drive the car, the experience is as good as the first day I took the car out. The condition is the same. I didn’t need intermediary trips to garage, except for regular services. When I just finished my second free service, I did “under body rust coat” for being in a coastal city like Chennai, tends to rust the metallic parts easily. Spark being a cheaper metal at that!
It is just amazing how easy to turn the car in such cranky corners and lanes of Chennai. The turning radius is fantastic. Since the car is just wider than an auto, I can almost zigzag around where an auto can. That explains the maneuverability of the vehicle. Interestingly, the car can comfortably seat 5 adults + 2kids with enough leg space for all. Considering the turning radius, easy maneuverability, smooth drive features, I was once able to drive fast with excellent control of the car, so nimble the car drive is, in flat 45 minutes from Triplicane to Ambattur, during the peak 5pm traffic via royapet, anna nagar, mogappair…
By the way, Sundaram Motors does excellent job of servicing and customer handling. KLN Motors, who is the other GM dealer in Chennai, is worst and has got some irresponsible and uncaring sales people. I still wonder why I opted to purchase from KLN instead of Sundaram Motors.
So here is my 10 month 10000KM delivery story of reliable Spark!

Updated to add:

The car is so spacious and comfortable, there are so many comfy spaces in such a small car. Just to give a perspective - When I sat in an Indica, I realized I didn’t space to place a water bottle, but in Chevy Spark I had four bottle holder spaces. A full-sized jute bag (the ones they give in textile shops) was needed to accommodate all the CDs, along with their jewel cases, that I have placed in spaces around my seat; beyond this, I have space for coins - to give tips, for my kids books and crayons - all neatly tucked in spaces around.

My son starts complaining he is feeling very cold, in 2 mins, whenever I switch on AC and keep it in just 1. Excellent product is this Chevy Spark, so are Opel Corsa, Astra, Aveo UVA, Tavera...sad GM, despite such rigorous SDP21s didn’t really get their business and union strategy right and have gone this way!