Slumdog Millionaire :(

Finally, got to watch slumdog millionaire last week , and to be frank i didnt like it.. guess its just all the hype that makes you expect more out of it.
The movie revolves around a mediocre story that has nothing great to offer, dialogues that suck and a diction that's pretty irritating . I have no idea what with the Anil Kapoor character that's missing -- something hollow.
Acting also, was below par, except for the junior artists ( the kids) -- who is should say did an excellent work -- :) however, the rest was pretty sad -- even the lead roles.. And -- rahman ... well, he probably deserved oscars for his musical scores in earlier movies ( roja), but not for this one .. there wasnt anything special about it and the only song that was enjoyable was 'jai ho' that came in the end..
Overall, i wonder how it won the globes.. and don't really see why it should win the oscars....

Life of Pi

Too bored with life and too jobless -- i went online to check out a list for 100 must read books :) =-- thats where I came around -- "Life of Pi" by Canadian author Yann Martel.. Now that i've finished reading -- i should say -- it defnitely is a "must read before you die" book. Reaches out to you in a very different manner.. There are many parts thatI feel was great, especially:

1. "These people fail to realize that it is on the inside that God must be defended, not on the outside.They should direct their anger at themselves. For evil in the open is but evil from within that has been let out. The main battlefield for good is not the open ground of the public arena but the small clearing of each heart. Meanwhile, the lot of widows and homeless children is very hard, and it is to their defence, not God's, that the self-righteous should rush."

2. "I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unerring ease. It begins in your mind,
always. One moment you are feeling calm, self-possessed, happy. Then fear, disguised in the garb of mild-mannered doubt, slips into your mind like a spy. Doubt meets disbelief and disbelief tries to push it out. But disbelief is a poorly armed foot soldier. Doubt does away with it with little trouble. You become anxious. Reason comes to do battle for you. You are reassured. Reason is fully equipped with the latest weapons technology. But, to your amazement, despite superior tactics and a number of undeniable victories, reason is laid low. You feel yourself weakening, wavering. Your anxiety becomes dread."

3. "It's important in life to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go. Otherwise you are left with words you should have said but never did,
and your heart is heavy with remorse."

I'd like to quote many more -- but I'd rather have you read the book...

...

i hated this place like hell when i was here - but coming back here after just abreak of 1 months feels so good -- like coming home ..familiar faces, familiar places .. im missing VIT !!

Sunset in Vellore

l

Vellore is the kind of place that grows on you ... takes time to start loving it. Very few things that pull you to it. The skies in evenings should definitely be one of them. The flat plains pierced by the occasional hills in the distance offers a great view. Both pics above taken from the Brahmapuram temple. Vinoth in pic.

Pondy

couldn't take out the cam as soon as i wished to. the elephant had already passed ...
it was on the way to pondy.... was one of the best times of my life .. for one reason -- i was in love - and madly. and thought it was reciprocated -- only to be disproved just a couple of days later.. nevertheless -- pondi was a once in a life time experience. we took, the band, booked cottages on the auroville beach -- the peace and tranquility in itself was overwhelming. the show didn't turn out to be great -- but everything else we did was awesome .... the biking through the rain-- drunk till we couldn't stand, late night conversations on the beach, the breakfast at the french bakery, her phone calls ......

Three Kings

In the pic - Nadar Kumaran(left), Harish Iyer(centre) and Vinoth(right)... three geniuses of their own kind.. Nadar, popularlry known as pshyco -- has a very funny temperament throughout always carefree, but hard working and brainy, Harish is more reckless and can be quite pissing off at times but very sincere on the other hand -- cannot stay more than 2 hours without a smoke ..last, but more like the leader of the group is Vinoth..aka..Kudigaran:) -- has the ability to pull people towards him, knows how to make and maintain friends... creative, level headed and a great friend..

The Gig in God's Own Country

the pic shows sun set on 31 dec 2006 ,taken from Poovar Island in Kerala -- we were setting up the drums for the new year gig at the resort when wew noticed it .. waited for 20 mins to get that boat under the sun.. one of the best shows i did with rubburband..that night