Images of Chennai

The following pictures were displayed in the photography exhibition "Images of Chennai",that was conducted in Alliance Francaise Madras from August 3rd to 19th.

Coverage for the exhibition

You might remember that there was a photography exhibition of photos taken by me at Alliance francaise from August 3rd to 18th.

Given below is the collection of media coverage that happened for the exhibition.

Times of India


The Hindu - 1



The Hindu - 2


Coverage in SS music

My exhibition in Alliance Francaise

Greetings to all of you!
As we prepare ourselves to celebrate MADRAS DAY on the 22^nd of August, the Alliance Française of Madras, is proud to be part of this city that is rich in culture and tradition, yet contemporary and modern. We have a series of events to celebrate Madras, starting with an exhibition by a young and talented individual who interprets Chennai with his captivating pictures.

The Alliance Française of Madras invites you to an exhibition of photography by C V Ramanujan.

IMAGES OF CHENNAI

3^rd to 19^th August 2009
Timing is from 9 to 7 on all days of the week except sunday

AFM GALLERY
Update:Gallery will be closed on Aug 15th Saturday.. :(

CVR is a photo enthusiast working in an IT company. When he is not busy coding you can find him in the streets of Chennai, photographing the interesting people, sights and wonders this great city has to offer.
In his own words
'"Like a kid jumping across the skies to catch hold of the stars, I set out with my camera, in an effort to capture the beauty around me.

How much am I successful, I leave it to you to decide. But the art of photography both fascinates me and humbles me. And with Chennai as an inspiration, I hope to learn more and more about this magic art of freezing time."

Dakshin Chitra Potter - Wonder what my maker's design is....
This picture was taken at Dakshin Chitra. DakshinaChitra is a center for the living traditions of art, folk performing arts, craft and architecture of India with an emphasis on the traditions of South India. It contains meticulously recreated replicas of traditional houses from Tamilnadu, Kerala, Andhra pradesh and Karnataka. The place is also home to performances from the staff enacting and teaching many of the traditional practices and art forms of South India.

Chennai Central jail inside - Gods of all colors

The Chennai Central jail is more than 150 yrs old and has been a host to many leaders and freedom fighters.
The government has decided to demolish the buildings and use the place for other purposes.
The campus was opened for the public before it can be demolished. Inside one could find clear signs of the former inmates' devotion.

Chennai MRTS Train - Chennai MRTS train
This picture was taken at the MRTS station at Velachery. The Chennai local train has a unique majestic look. One can’t help admiring the pride and arrogance in its face of not having to stop for anyone. The bold and confident attitude clearly evident, the Chennai local train is the representation of the character of the people of Chennai who are high on self-respect. May be that’s why we love the local trains so much.

For further information please contact C V Ramanujan at 97910 36722
www.simplycvr.blogspot.com
http://cvrintamil.blogspot.com/
www.flickr.com/photos/seeveeaar

Contact AFM at 2827 9803/ 2827 1477

Update : The exhibition got inaugurated with a small and simple ceremony.

Making a shot - The smiling Trinity

This one was taken during the photowalk in saidapet.I I was almost ready to go back home after a decent outing through the streets of saidapet and was just waiting on the marmalong bridge for my friends to turn up so that i can leave after a formal good bye.
Thats when 3 of these little girls came up to me with their bit notices.You can find these kinda beggars in many places handing over these piece of papers which details many things ranging from medical troubles,educational reasons to religious pilgrimage commitments. I generally dont like to encourage beggars and get particularly furious when i see kids begging(Its a long story!! not here..not now :))!!
So i turned away after uttering out a polite and firm no.

The girls turned away and started looking for somebody else to influence with their sorry tales.But one of them couldnt conceal her curiosity over my big black camera and started discussing with her friends rather loudly about whether they can request me to take their pic!!
That was enough of an invitation for me!! I beckoned them and asked whether they want me to take a picture of them.All three of them nodded with varying degrees of enthusiasm. So I started my routine.

Strike 1









The one who was enthusiastic about getting their picture taken is smiling...The one on the right is not exavlty sure how to react ...seems like she is posing just because her friend pressured her to...The one in the middle is downright staring at me!! Understandable! Just a few mins back I had coldly shooed them away...
What do i do???

I tried to get into some small talk..get them out of their cocoon...asked their names and stuff...told them they need to smile to get a good looking pic  etc...
Moved out a bit so that they dont feel too intimidated ....and..
CLICK!

Strike 2




Err.....
Not good!!Something else needs to be done!!
Lemme try something else...Lemme get friendly with the girl in yellow!!
hi there!!
Lemme take a solo picture of you.. can you come here please...ya...and smile... ok...say cheeeeeese




CLICK!

Strike 3

I showed the pic to that girl and her friends too..Now they were excited..I need some work to be done with the middle one..
You want a pic just like your friend's pic??? come on here... just smile.. smile big..ok..yup! thats it...



CLICK!

Strike 4

Great!! now she is cheerful and comfy!! lemme click that other girl too so that she doesnt feel left out!!
Hey there!! One pic of you too..Ok...smile.......

Strike 5





thats shaky..but thats ok...
Now i can get them together...

Alright people!! lets try another group shot! ok?? yes!! why dont you people come closer...still more closer...ok..ready??



CLICK!!
Strike 5




Great!! I loved it!!I showed them and they loved it too!!

When i came home and saw it in the big screen i felt there was something missing there!!
Something really plain and dry about the tone!!
Lemme make this into Sepia! That will give the emotion i felt at that time! the feeling of vintage friendship and all that stuff!!
Good!
Now..lemme tweak up the contrast and sharpness a little!!

Cool!! I got my shot!!!

Strike 5


I later posted it with the following comment.

As I was waiting for my friend at the end of the photowalk,couple of these girls approached me with their bit notice with all kinds of sad stories,ending with a request for donation,a very familiar form of begging in the city.
I clearly indicated that iam not interested and turned the other way .
Thats when curiousity got the better of the middle one and she asked whether i can take a picture of them.
Similar to the other occasion i was more than happy to oblige.
Took a couple of shots and a bit of friendly cheerful talk to get the other two to get smiling normally.
But in the end when they smiled and when i clicked this we forgot who we were and where we were.It was a moment when three friends had a moment of fun and frolic and another friend clicking that moment.We were fellow human beings sharing the joy of humanity then being strangers divided by inequalities.
That moment was perfect

Making a shot - Kulasai shot

You don't take a photograph, you make it. - Ansel Adams

What does this mean??? You never click any pic and just cook up something in photoshop??

Wrong!

What he means is that a photograph is not about just snapping whatever you see but its about applying your heart and mind into producing a frame which contains exactly what you want to share...
Thats why i get iritated when people call my pictures as snaps!! Its not just something i happen to click as i pass by. Every picture i publish has been produced after a lot of time and effort to create the mood and composition that i wanted to share.

A few days back i was browsing through my archives and found some interesting shots! Earlier in my pursuit in photography i used to shoot in JPG so i never bothered to delete so many pics either in camera or after downloading into the computer.So i was able to see the series of shots that i had taken before settling down to the picture i wanted to share.Nowadays i delete them in the comp or in the cam or right inside my mind itself...So nobody gets to see it!! :)

Iam sharing one of those with you so that  you can get a glimpse of the thinking process of a photographer and incorporate more of "making a shot" in your pictures...

Lets take the case of roadside kid shot from the village Kulasai.
Kulasai alias Kulasekarapatnam is a small village in thirunelveli,famous for the Dushera celebrations that happen there every year.I had gone there last year and had come back with loads and loads of pictures and experience.
This picture was taken during that trip.


The purest form of human




Now...this is not the very first picture i took of this kid......

The day we landed in kulasai,we took out our cameras and were walking towards the beach trying to sink into the mood and breath in the life and culture the village had to offer.Thats when one of the guys from a roadside gypsy family came running to me and requested for a photo to be taken!!
It is a dream come true scenario for a street photographer...
He was so overjoyed when i obliged that he promptly went back and brought his nephew along for a picture to be taken...

Shot 1



The minute i laid my eyes on the kid i knew he was special and i can have a really good shot if only i could apply myself. I showed the guy the photo i had just taken and he was super excited..He went running back and brought along some more folks from his family.

Shot 2

The kid was that Dhadiwala's son. The folks were overjoyed!! now that i have got their good will and attention,i requested them whether i can take a solo pic of the kid.They were more than happy to say yes.So i zoomed in to the tiny one Shot 3 Cute!! But not quite what i wanted!! this guy had a more confused and bewildered look than what i was looking for!! I tried to smile and make a conversation with him!! I was sure he didnt know tamil,he was too young to understand any language anyway.... Shot 4 This is better..but he looks more curious and inquisitive than what i want....let me try and make him even more comfortable!! I moved closer. "hi there little fellow!! you are looking awesome!! just one pose ok....just smile..ya ya thats it........" CLICK!! The purest form of human I LOVED the shot the minute i saw the pic in the LCD. I thanked them and walked on.... After i came back from my trip i posted this with the following writeup.... "A roadside gypsy kid. People came running to us asking us to take their photograph,during my recent trip to kulasai*. And i took a whole lot of them before i got tired of it :)  And this kid was really so cute... I could see hope in his eyes!! That reflected the hope of a better india that i cherish in my heart  I have always felt that kids are the purest form of humans.... And here is the example.....  In a few years he will have a religion, caste, social status,language,country,gender realisations etc etc etc  But for now he is just human.........Human at his purest form. " Will try to post few more series of shots like this! I hope you find it interesting and useful... :) PS : Cross posted from my office blog

Some basics in photography

So you just bought your DSLR?? Or you have just been bit by the photography bug??

You have seen some GREAT pics from people in flickr,Photo.net or elsewhere and want to take those kinda "really cool" shots and dont know where to start???

You have reached the right blogspot page!!

The good news is "its possible". You can be owner of all those brilliant shots.

The bad news..Its not easy!! You got to realllllly love the art to be able to spend the time and effort and money it deserves...

I have tried to put some of the stuff that came to my mind when one of my friends asked for a similar advice.

1. Shoot less,show lesser
2. Click less think more.publish less,delete more.
3. Learn the rules so that you can break them by choice.
4. Read up about Rule of thirds,leading lines,subject placement,non central placement and all the basics of composition.
5. Learn how to make a shot
6. Stop shooting in Auto
7. Shoot in RAW.
8. Learn basic PP.Be at ease with contrast/brightness adjustment,sharpness,saturation,cropping.
9. Know about HDR
10. Recognise the two stages of photographyhttp://simplycvr.blogspot.com/2008/12/two-stages-in-photography.html
11. Take photography trips!
12. Make friends within local photography enthusiasts with the help pf online forums etc and follow their work
13. Follow the works of people you admire and find out what is stopping you from making those kind of pictures.It could be knowhow,practice or equipment.Identify that and fill up the gaps! If you are not able to decide ask for help.
14. Try not to use flash as much as possible.Flash can kill the soul of the pic
15. Fall in love with light.Fall in love with life.Fall in love with the world around.Just start appreciating the beautiful things around you.90% of photography has got nothing to do with camera.It has to do with how you see and how you record it in your brain and how you want to present it.

I will add to this if i think of something else!

All the best :)

My weekend with "Kick"

Some of you might Know that I had wanted to watch a telugu movie in hyderabad even before i came to this place. Also i wanted to try out some authentic andhra cuisine before going back to chennai. Yesterday(May 10th) happened to be the last weekend of my stay in Hyderabad and yesterday also happened to be the day when both of the above wishes came true!
I had been making some noises about this for a while and my good friend Sumanoj made a neat plan to make me realise them. Our first stop was the PVR movie theatres in Hyderabad central,PanjaGutta. Suman had booked tickets for the telugu movie "Kick",featuring Ravi Teja and Ileana.I have already had the experience of watching a really horrible movie called "Khatarnak" featuring these two,so i was a bit scared when i heard about the booking.But Sumanoj assured me that the movie was the "most bearable" of the lot which had released during the recent times.
We entered the theatre as the names started rolling after stocking ourselves with liberal amounts of pop-corn and pepsi.So we missed the all important scene of Ileana performing Yoga moves, due to the delay.Now! Dont act so innocent and ask what relevance does it have to the story......Its just that ..It was "Ileana" and she was performing Yoga!!!..Enough said!


I am sure you guys wont be so naive as to ask me what is the story of this movie! One doesnt go to watch "Kick" if he/she wants a story.One settles with one of satyajit ray's movies or one of those movies from the regional language movie feature in DD on sundays,if he wants a story.Better still,One borrows some pirate DVDs of some Korean,Iranian or some other movie from a God forsaken corner of the world,if he wants a story. You might actually not understand any story from the movie ,but you can always talk volumes of how great the movie was and make up any story that comes to your mind! They cant tell the difference.Anyway! Iam digressing!


The movie starts with Actor Shaam coming to Malaysia to meet Ileana.They meet up in a train,as arranged by their parents to have some chat and decide whether they can go ahead with the marital alliance.And thats when Ileana starts narrating her failed love affair.

Thus starts the flash back and in comes Ravi Teja! He is this most freaky,most irresponsible,most crazy guy who goes around doing whatever he wants for the sake of "Kick".The narration starts with him informing the parents of his friends about a probable elopement and then helping them get married at the same time!!Needless to say our hot looking heroine falls in love with this crazy guy!!I mean! Thats expected right?! The good looking smart girls always fall for some crazy guy,eve teaser,mentally imbalanced,"child like"(dumb),violent rowdy etc etc..So the love story flourishes with crazy antics from Ravi Teja and ends when Ileana realises that he has been interested just for the "kicks" and not reallllllly in love with her!!(Duh...what a bulb!)
And thats when Shaam starts his flashback!!No..no!This is not another failed love affair! This is about a criminal who has been outwitting him and has been driving him crazy with his clues and hints!Surprise Surprise!! The audience get to know that the clever criminal is none other than our Ravi Teja!And ...We get to know that he is in Malaysia for some reason.The movie breaks into an intermission!!
If your eyes balls are rolling and your heads are spinning already i will save you from the drudgery of reading about the remaining story(?!).


Ravi Teja fits the role of a idiotic yet intelligent, carefree yet meticulous, crazy yet deep character perfectly! I got to say that he has enough screen presence to make you laugh and smile at his antics! And one couldnt hate him all that much inspite of his non-heroic, non-serious characterisation.


Ileana plays the role of I_am_a_hot_intelligent_girl_but_i _will_fall_for_an_idiot role to perfection!!I guess being a girl helps play it so naturally.(obviously! :-S).Her acting(?!) seems to have improved just a little bit since i saw her in "Khatarnak".She is a just a little more bearable during her exaggerated outbursts.


Shaam occupies a lot of frames in this movie.I have always felt that he has been an unlucky actor and I felt the same in this movie too.He is stylish,manly and all
brisk and serious ,as he moves around with assurance as a police officer all through the movie!I wont be surprised if his female fans base increases some more after this movie.The guy deserves it totally.


The biggest strength of the movie is the light mood that has been maintained all through the movie.There are ample comedy scenes in the movie not just from the lead characters but also from a handful of regular comedy actors whom i have seen in the other telugu movies(Dunno their names :().None of the songs stuck to my mind but they were quite tolerable and are placed fairly aptly,so that they dont kill the flow of the movie.The BGM also seems to complement the movie perfectly.Though i must warn you that the previous two statements of mine could be sheerly motivated due to the brilliant acoustics in PVR cinema
The movie never drags on anywhere during the 2-3 hours.Inspite of the flashbacks and twists and confusions of the storyline the screenplay is quite clear and never allows you to scratch your head or squirm in your seat or look at your watch! That i think is the biggest success of the director.The visuals are quite bright pleasant and colourful!!The actions sequence are apt and well within the mark considering the fact that this is a masala movie.Thank fully there are no gory bloody scenes or cheap romance or lewd comedy!! Full marks to the makers for this.I am sure I would have appreciated a lot more of the comedy if only i had known telugu.Most of the times i smiled cluelessly as people around me laughed for the timing jokes!
Overall it was a time spent with laughs and entertainment and i didnt have to "kick" myself for having had to watch the movie!

Soon after the movie I had lunch in "Chutneys" and savoured the hot south Indian thali with Gongura chutney,famed avakkai,paruppu podi et all…..
Thank You Suman for a memorable outing :)


PS:Iam wearing the famed Orange shirt today again . I had already terrorized a sleepy security guard as he had a glimpse of me while I swiped in.Reports indicate that he wont be able to sleep for the next 10 days. I am hoping to employ the time tested technique of hiding in the corners and looking down at the floor whenever people look at me as if I have just escaped from the circus. I hope I can get through the day this way.Wish me luck :)

The brightly colored shirt and related woes

Iam wearing a shirt today which i had been avoiding for a really really long time!

Its bright orange in color and its so jarring and saturated that i would be seriously afraid to go out on the streets for the fear of provoking any angry bull,or even goat,sheep or a dog for that matter.
This shirt was bought by mom without my knowledge during one of her shopping stints and i gulped two jugs of cold water after recovering from unconsciousness after seeing the shirt for the first time.
My mom has the inimitable knack of picking such things!! From time immemorial she gives me such surprises which mostly ends with "You_never like_whatever_i_buy_for_you!! "I_bought_this_with_so_much_of_love_and_now_iam_so_upset" scenario that pains me to no end!!
I have learnt to work around such surprises through some disastrous instances.

So what did i do?? i have been avoiding this shirt as much as i can with light banter about how i would look like a hindu fanatic or worker in thirupathi temple with the shirt and laugh it away whenever she recommends the shirt for the day!!
Little did i know that she would cleverly insert this one while packing for this hyderabad trip!
Today as i was looking for a shirt for my cream colored pant i found that none of the pressed shirts were dark enough to match the pant and this furiously colored one was the only one darker than the other ones!!!
So i decided to give it a try!

Now i hide myself in the corner of the room and the hallways walkways,consciously reminding myself to avoid the weird looks i have been getting and been hanging my head in shame as i look at my reflection on the glass window panes.
The shirt is not even manly let alone professional!!!
The color will suit a girl's dress or a 2-3 year old boy and not any older!!I guess my mom still considers me as her 2-3 year old baby !! :)
But still....
Sigh!!

I can only hope that my day runs away fast!! :-|
Its all in the game :)

My trip to Salarjung museum,Charminar and Mecca masjid

I went to Salarjung museum,Charminar and Mecca masjid on Saturday(25-Apr-2009).
I took the 216 bus from Gachibowli and reached the Koti bus stand.After that i walked to Salarjung museum.It was a walking distance and also the people were quiet friendly and helpful as i reached there by asking directions along the way.

The Salarjung family had been the primeministers of Hyderabad under the rule of the Nizams and the Salarjung museum owes its existence to the collections of Salarjung III whose artistic patronage leaves you spell bound.
The museum stands tall with three sections with a ground floor and first floor with scores and scores of artwork of historical value.You can find articles ranging from sculptures, paintings, scriptures, arms, ivory work, textile, porcelain, woodwork, furniture etc etc mainly from India,China,Europe,Japan and Egypt.It is a delight for all those like me who totally dig at history,culture and art etc.The ticket is only Rs.10 which i thought was really cheap for a museum of its size and sophistication.The place is maintained pretty well with usable drinking water and decent toilets at regular intervals.The food costs a fortune at the food court(Well !! they have to make money somewhere...;))

Next place in my list was Charminar!! I have heard of Charminar for so so long and i was really excited about going there.I walked for sometime from the museum when it started raining! Again i asked for directions all through and caught an auto somewhere in Pathergatti road and settled for 10Rs after some bargain.As the auto neared the landmark i could see the setting and environment change quite a bit with a lot of activity ,people and big ancient arches!Finally I was at the Charminar!!

The view was so exhilarating!!! There i was , bending my neck at acute angles, trying to fully see the four minarets jutting into the sky with exquisite design and craftmanship.I prompty got the ticket for Rs.5 and climbed up the winding stairs in one of the minarets.People are allowed to climb up the charminar upto the first floor and not any further! I climbed upto the first floor to watch the busy streets down below with the noise,traffic,people and life on all four side of the minar.The lively sights and sounds made me feel like i was in some exotic historic town in Istanbul or middle east!!I climbed down after a while and messaged my mom about how thrilled I was.I really really had to share that with someone! I missed my parents!
Then i went over to Mecca masjid which is just couple of paces from Charminar munching away cut mango pieces appropriately sprinkled with salt/chilly powder!Heavenly it was.

Mecca masjid is a really old mosque built way back in 17th century.Just a few months back i had seen a picture taken by one of my friends,of this landmark and had been fascinated by the structure.Back then i was surprised to see the fluttering pigeons which neatly added to the mood of the picture,but when i went there I realised that it was impossible to take a pic of the place without those pigeons! There were just too many of them.People are allowed to walk around the front yard of the mosque which has a small water tank in one of its corner.
After visiting the mosque i reached the nearby bus stand after walking through an alley, as directed by the friendly traffic cop!!I got my 65G bus to mehdipatnam pretty soon and the journey back home was uneventfful except for a six rupee tender coconut and five rupee watermelon plate.

I managed alone all through the trip with my broken hindi which is only just a litttttle better than Mohanlal's hindi in the movie "Company".I never felt lost even once!! I love this place :-)
Also the summer of hyderabad isnt bothering me too much!! I got to admit that i have been carefully avoiding the middaytimes but still the heat is perfectly manageable on the other times!I have heard a few people say that the summer in hyderabad can be a shade hotter than in chennai but iam yet to see any proof of that!In fact i had seen hotter summers in mysore when i had been there a couple of times!

I had initially planned to go to Ramoji film city on sunday but upon googling,I found out that the place was a little too far and i wasnt having a very clear idea as to how to go there!Also taking so much of pain the very next day that too for a trip alone didnt sound too exciting so i decided to give it a miss! I guess any other trip has to wait for a weekend after return from the chennai trip during the long weekend!
Lets see :-)
PS:It was just a site seeing trip, so i didnt take any pictures!They dont let any camera inside the salarjung museum anyway!! :)

Two type of trips

There are two type of trips one can take to any place of interest!
One is a site seeing trip and another one is a photography trip!!
Site seeing trip is something which everyone is aware of ! Its the one where one goes to primarily see,hear and smell the sights and sounds and smells,the place has to offer and to generally get a feel of the place!!

But a photography trip is one where you intend to do all of the above and also aim to get some decent shots of that place! When i say get decent shots i do not mean the standard "I was there" shots which tourists usually take!! Photographers ,amateur or professional,like to spend time and capture a place in such a way that is both unique and special and brings out the feel of the place in their own style! One needs to spend quite a lot of time and mind to take such photos!

Personally i have felt that such photos cannot be taken during a siteseeing trip!! The people who are with you make a very big difference in a trip too!! Ideally you would need people who understand when Iam staring at a subject for minutes together trying to visualise the photo in my mind and try to think of the angles and composition while noting the lighting conditions.You want to go with the kinda people who can sense such a situation and not expect me to tag along with them or talk to me during those times!At the same time you would want to also talk abt the nuances and share your experiences and tips during other times to make such photography trips really complete!!Such company is possible only when you have photography enthusiasts with you.

Such photography trips are hard to take when you have constraints with you in terms of time,company etc! For example when you are planning to cover places and are packing one too many landmarks with fair bit of travel in between,it can be downright impossible!
Usually i take photography trips to selected places(just 1 place almost all the time) with fellow photographers with a clear mindset and intent.DSLR cameras require you to carry a bag with all lenses and stuff so it is quite bulky and heavy to carry around! So most of the times my trips wont last more than half a day!

Such trips are impossible during instances like now when i am just trying to see as many places in Hyderabad during the limited time i have here with trips spanning for 1 whole day.Also where in the motivation to click is dampened due to non-availability of my laptop.

I guess i have to come to Hyderabad one more time so that i can "aaram se" plan such photography trips to the various landmarks here!
Until then! It will be just covering places....
:)

The future is here people!!!

I guess the video says it all.. :)

நல்லதோர் வீணை செய்தே - Nalladhore Veenai seydhaey (Wasted potential - poem and translation)

(Original)
நல்லதோர் வீணை செய்தே - அதை 
நலங்கெடப் புழுதியில் எறிவதுண்டோ (நல்லதோர்)

சொல்லடி சிவசக்தி - எனைச் 
சுடர்மிகும் அறிவுடன் படைத்துவிட்டாய் 
வல்லமை தாராயோ - இந்த 
மாநிலம் பயனுற வாழ்வதற்கே 
சொல்லடி சிவசக்தி - நிலச் 
சுமையென வாழ்ந்திடப் புரிகுவையோ (நல்லதோர்)

விசையுருப் பந்தினைப் போல் - உள்ளம் 
வேண்டியபடி செய்யும் உடல் கேட்டேன் 
நசையறு மனம் கேட்டேன் - நித்தம் 
நவமெனச் சுடர் தரும் உயிர் கேட்டேன் ...உயிர் கேட்டேன் ...உயிர் கேட்டேன் 
தசையினைத் தீச்சுடினும் - சிவ
சக்தியைப் பாடும் நல்லகம் கேட்டேன் 
அசைவுறு மதி கேட்டேன் - இவை 
அருள்வதில் உனக்கேதும் தடையுளதோ (2)(நல்லதோர்)
--மகாகவி சுப்ரமணிய பாரதி

(Transliteration)
Nalladhore Veenai seydhaey - adhai
Nalamkeda puzhudhiyil Erivadhundo(Nalladhore)

Solladi Sivasakthi - enai
Sudarmigum arivudan padaitthuvittaay
Vallamai thaaraayo - indha 
maanilam payanura vaazhvadharkae
solladi sivasakthi - Nila
Chumaiyena vaazndhida puriguvaiyo(Nalladhore)

Visaiyaru pandhinaippOl - ullam
vEndiyabadi seyyum udal kEattaen
Nasaiyaru manam keattaen - Nittham
Navamena sudar tharum uyir keattaen ..uyir keattaen...uyir keattaen
thasaiyinai theecchudinum - siva 
sakthiyaip paadum nal akam keattaen
asaivaru madhi keattaen - ivai 
arulvadhil unakkEdhum thadaiyuladhO(Nalladhore)
--Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi

(Translation)



I am always weary of translations because i am always afraid that i would kill the soul of the original with my scratchy liguistic skills.This is the case even when i try to translate my own work.So when i think about translating the work of the Mahakavi himself,you can understand my mindset.But i want to do this so that non-Tamils can get a glimpse of the spirit of this great man's words and his thoughts which i admire so much.

Will Anybody make a divine beautiful veena,Only to throw it in the dust in the end?

Tell me Sivasakthi!! You are the one who created me with such vibrant intellect.
Give me the strength to use this and live for the betterment of this society
Tell me Sivasakthi!!Will I be yet another useless burden to this soil?

Like a ball in motion,i ask for my body to set into action to the orders of my heart
I ask for a mind without laziness
I ask for a soul that radiates wisdom all day,everyday
I ask for a mind that sings your glory even if my flesh is burnt with fire
I ask for a stable heart
What stops you from blessing me these basic requests?

"Nalladhore Veenai seydhey" is a very famous verse from Bharathi used in many occasions to bring out the feeling of wasted potential. In fact i came across an article about Vinod Kambli when i was googling with these words.I think that gives a nice idea abt the effect of this poem in the mind of tamils.
In this poem,the poet laments about his inability to realise his potential and to be useful for his society.One can promptly identify with the situation when we know we got the potential but just not enough to make a change.The poet has been beautifully able to bring out that frustration and guilt for not being the best one can be.The limitations can be many but the primary cause is the lack of resolve and discipline that plagues one too many.
The poem springs up in my memory many a times and the beauty of tamil and the word usage makes an indelible mark in my minds.I think the poem needs to be read in the original language to appreciate the nuances and spirit fully.
The poem has been sung with music in many tamil films whenever the situation of "wasted potential" comes into picture.Be it in love,career,or life itself.The song can also be found in the movie made on the great man(A must watch for all india/tamil/literature/philanthrophy lovers).


PS: Got the lyrics from here

A Visit to CENTRAL PRISON CHENNAI-3

The below writeup is from Henk,popularly known as Oochappan  in photography circles.
Henk is a belgian national,who first came to india in 1987. He fell in love with the place so much that every yearfor 3-4 months, he comes to india and spends time taking pictures mainly in tamilnadu  and madurai .I have seen some of the best pictures of tamilnadu through his lenses.His pictures bring out the life and laughters of this place so beautifully.His Jallikkattu  photos are a benchmark for quite a few and his photos have served as a huge source of inspiration and motivation for me particularly due to my area of interest in photography.
The writeup below was written by him during one of his visits to the chennai central jail while it was functioning.
As you might know the jail has been marked for demolition now and the place will be used for the metro rail and other development activities.
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A Visit to CENTRAL PRISON CHENNAI-3

January 1998
Report by oochappan
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A registered letter of recommendation had announced my arrival. So now I am standing before the main gate of the prison of Madras. The city of Madras, nowadays so called Chennai is with a population of four million habitants the fourth biggest city of India. The prison itself is situated in the centre of the city between the rails of an enormous station-shunting-yard on an enclosure of 13,46 hectare. The building dated from 1837 was inaugurated as a sub jail and grown nowadays into a capacity of 1419 prisoners.

A yellow rickshaw had dropped me at the railway bridge from where a concrete road turned downwards to an open ground yard in front of the main gate. Lucky I had a copy of that registered letter with me that leaded me through two check posts and along queues of waiting visitors. Some were there already from 5 o’clock in the morning.

On the ground yard suffused with hot sunlight there were about ten transfer-vans with their drivers in light-coloured uniform waiting for the next convoy to the high-court. A soldier armed with a bayonet was guarding the main-gate. With the so familiar sound of jingling keys a guard appeared through a small door of the main gate. He was dressed in full state, a red coloured feather on his cap and white tassels on his socks under plus-fours. Yes, they still honour typical English traditions over here. On paper I had to write again my request and with my international driving-license he vanished again behind that small door. In the meanwhile policemen were bringing in two more clients. After they were stripped to skin in the wide open, they were escorted into the prison with their clothes under their arms. Ten o’clock and
26 ºC… the green transfer-vans were dancing in the quivering hot sunlight reflected by the light-coloured sand. I was standing in the shadow of the only tree given some respite. The tassel-man returned, offered me a cigarette and told me to wait. Startled and offering his apologies, he dumped quickly his cigarette hearing that I was a ‘senior officer’. Indeed here in Tamil Nadu you still pay respect for your superiors even your own elder brother by not smoking in their presence.

Finally it got so far. The ‘Superintendent’ invited me for an interview. Hop, through that small door inside. The chillness of the half-dark inner-hall felt refreshing. The prisoners going to court were registered here, one by one, handcuffed and drained away to a waiting-room. By a large stairway leading to the second floor above the hall, we reached his office, looking out over the shaded inner-court. A sturdy, well groomed, in summer-shirt dressed man of forty invited me to a delicious hot cup of tea. Left besides him some monitors showing the inner hall, the surroundings, and the visiting-room and on the right a big ventilator in front of the plan of the prison, hanging against the wall. The prison was a rectangular building with only one entrance. Through the administration-block you reached the cellular-block consisting out of ten units each with an inner-court as big as a football-field, a big kitchen, the carpentry, the wood-storehouse, a workshop for sealing wax and the hospital entirely surrounded by a fire-break-corridor with high walls. The bleached colour of the plan betrayed the authenticity of this document.

“I am also responsible for the eight sub jails here in Chennai “addressing himself towards me shoving aside his last file. “ This prison in fact is a house of custody; as soon as they are convicted they go to prisons outside Madras”. Here he had to run things with only 150 guards for an overpopulation of 2000 prisoners. The visitors are allowed here to bring food for the prisoners. There were some plans to build a second gate special for the daily transfers to the high-court………..
And if I wanted an official visit, he would pass my request on to the governor, but a semi-official visit was also possible. I opted for this last proposal. Also he promised me to bring some official documents about the prison on my next appointment. So we fixed the date that he would have more time. And with a respectful ‘poite wareen’ I left with the feeling I had made my day.

Two weeks after the superintendent was in full uniform because he had some high visit: the inspector! Both of them were wearing all their badges like colourful pictograms competing to each other. Being rather busy he redirected me to his assistant deputy. This one fired a series of questions to me, assisted by the psychologist as an interpreter. And as it suites to each Tamil he started with the familiar ‘What’s your name, your country, your salary …?’
So I learned that his salary of around ten thousand rupees was not so bad if you multiply it by seven, the difference of life standard to my country. Informing about the working system in our prison, the psychologist wrote this accurately in his notebook. He appointed a guard to accompany me to the cellular blocks.

Leaving the main-gate, we arrived at a small shaded inner court of the administrative section. In the right corner prisoners were shouting at their visiting family members through a double-meshed grille. Once in fourteen days, they can visit their imprisoned-relatives. A decent control on the visitors is non-existing since most of them even got an identity-card.
The second gate led to a large sandy square with a few trees. There was no escape from the hot burning sun anymore. Next to the guarded gate there was the prison dress changing room. New clients were here also provided with a straw sleeping mat and a pillow filled with coco-fibre. No prison clothes: non-convicted has to wear their civil clothes. Compared to city of Madras the square looked amazingly clean. Minors had to maintain this, informed my accompanist in broken English. And the minors resided in the block at the right of the square on the first floor. In the right corner there was a section exclusive for the foreigners. Crossing the square to the kitchen, some prisoners were strolling here and there. They were allowed to walk around freely in their block from 6 in the morning till 8 at night, and then they were locked up in their cells. As the only white man, I attracted a lot of attention. With their black mugs and white glistering eyes they stared at me. Most of them were wearing a traditional lungi, a loin-cloth in variegated Madras-design and walked in bare feet in the hot burning sand. Their black skin glimmered as silk in the sun.
In the centre of the kitchen a huge steam-boiler was held under pressure with firewood day and night like it was to going to explode at any moment. Rusty pipes connected big hinging steam kettles to it. In it they steamed the Tamarind-rice, the base of all South-Indian dishes together with dal, a sort of soup cooked from vegetables, spices and a lot of chilly peppers. The cooked rice was brought to another hall, turned over on big tables and pressed into a bowl, the size of one portion of a person. A swift English talking prisoner working here as a cook told me he earned six rupees a day the price of six cigarettes. Gladly he took over the task of my accompanying-guard as an interpreter and he was allowed to let rest his work for a while. As soon as we left the kitchen, hasty he explained that he was imprisoned innocent… where did I hear that before…aren’t we all ? On the other hand Madras-police is feared. Recently a newspaper article mentioned two dead bodies of fourteen-year-old boys dumped at a river after two weeks of detention in the police-quarters!
The Tamil-language was the main course in the prison school for fifty percent of the population, still illiterate. The dreary hospital situated on the first floor of another building sheltered only four patients in a sick-ward of twenty-two beds. About two hundred and three patients were lodged in hospitals outside the prison like the nurse told me. Those were of course in a far more bad shape mentally or physically.
Finally we went to one of the blocks of the so-called dangerous criminals. Behind the grille we reached a vast rectangular square surrounded by all the cells in two floors. Each cell housed usually three accused. The cells were rather obscure. The straw sleeping mats were unrolled on the ground, next to it one bucket and their personal belongings were all spread on the rest of the floor. No trace of a table or a chair cause the life of an average Tamilien takes place on the ground, here a concrete one. At least it was chilly, so most of the prisoners preferred to chat with their fellow-prisoners in their cool cells. On one side of the square they could find some relief in all the latrines. The whole bloc counted about two hundred prisoners guarded by one warder standing in the shadow of the only tree with a bamboo stick under the arm. Against all odds the atmosphere seemed rather calm and peacefully. Recalling the superintended that murder was the prime rate of crime it didn’t show here in the least.

We concluded our tour by the fire-break-corridor following the outside walls. On top of these walls high-tension cables had to prevent any escape at night. At the same time these corridors gathered all the open sewer-pipes and that you could tell by the dreadful smell hanging here. In the shadow of the corners a ward standing there all day controlled the corridor. Almost no attempts to escape were made here, last year even none! Reaching the entrance I gave the cook-interpreter my last two cigarettes by the approval of my accompanied-guard. Others hold out hands were whistled back.

Back into the noisy and smelly turmoil of Madras an ox-carriage held up all traffic, tired of climbing up the bridge in the hot burning sun. The top of my head was sunburned…….
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PS : You can catch some of my photos of central jail here .

Delhi - 6 short and crisp music review

Maula:
Rahman never fails to stamp his mark on sufi numbers!! This one is another feather on his cap!! The voice and music beautifully creates the mood in this one...

Delhi hai meri yaar
Iam sure this will be lapped up BIG time by generation X,Y etc etc.And this song will be running in the background when there is a report on Delhi shown onTV.Rahman has presented a "Madras-a sutthi paaka poraen" for Delhi which will serve the great city for years to come.

Dil gira kahi par,dafatan
Its one of those songs which silences everything else when you start listening to it.when you walk in the streets with this song on your headphones,you will feel as if you are an observer and the world around is functioning in a different plane/dimension.The song has an incredible calming effect on my mind.Sounds a bit like i have listened to it somewhere ,probably as a BGM in some japanese or chinese movie,but very soon i stop investigating and surrender to the mesmerising tune.

Genda phool
A beautiful folk number which nicely builds up starting with a traditional and non-chalant voice.I have never been short of amazement on Rahman's ability to churn out traditional folk numbers without the rustiness of an outsider.It always sounds like as if he has been born and brought up with the sounds of those music.Be it sufi,punjabi or carnatic and even pettai rap.A beautiful piece of music that gives a very neat introduction to any outsider about Rajasthani folk.

Kaala Bundher
A foot tapping number easily gets into your mind and gets you dancing even as the simple rap coupled with techno beats makes you forget about the world around you.This will be another one of those songs which be an instant favourite among the younger generation.

Masakkali
Very light and informal sounding song.One that you can expect people to sing with zeal after having their round of dharu.A jolly and upbeat one that your lips will murmur while on higher spirits.

Rehna Tu
This is one of those unique Rahman numbers which might sound slow and uninteresting in the begining and might require some time to set in.But a perfect number to listen when you are alone ,be it working in the kitchen or cleaning the living room or just lying back with your eyes closed .One of those songs,which you will never forget after it manages to break in.

Aarti Tumre Bhavan Mein
More like a bhajan.Not as extensive as "Man mohana" from Jodha Akbar or "Oh paavan hare" from lagaan.This seems to be a smaller piece ,more like a BGM.Soothing.

Bhor bhaye
An out and out hindustani piece.The female voice is really sweet and very enjoyable for melody fans like me.I am sure this will be a real treat to all classical music lovers.

Zarrae zarrae.
More like a recital from Amitabh.Such an enchanting voice he has,but this aint any song..so..dunno what else to write..  :)

Hindi Ghajini,what i felt- beware of spoilers

Watched Gajini (Hindi) with some blogger(external) friends yesterday.
There are various categories of movies.There are movies that are intelligently and meticulously made and calmly pulls the viewer into the movie with story telling(Forrest gump,Shawshank redemption,Crash,Anjadhey,RDB,Lage raho types).And there are the ones,masala movies that makes all the noise and pomp and shouts out "Iam entertaining you” all through the movie.Interestingly,such movies rarely gives me any entertainment.I know its solely a taste related thingie and there is nothing right or wrong about it.Its just me...

Needless to say Gajini is of the second type.Having seen the tamil version when it was released,the suspense factor which this movie heavily banks on, fails to work with me.
Iam sure the first time watcher will be glued to the seat by the various twists and turns that is offered by the script of this movie that will make it an interesting watch,as it did with me,when i watched it the first time.

Having known the story,there was I was just duration waiting for the movie to finish. All the noise and action left me with a headache which I usually get after watching such "entertainers". The last time i got such a headache was when i watched "Shivaji",though the latest was a lot lesser in intensity. The "Shivaji" record is a tough one to beat.
Here are some of the thoughts in my mind about the movie...

Songs:
I really really loved "Suttum vizhi sudarae" and "Oru maalai ila veyil neram" .They were PERFECT for the movie and the picturisation/editing were top class.For someone who listens and appreciates the lyrics of a song,those two songs were a real treat.For example there will be a line in the song "Suttum vizhi sudarae"

"கருப்பு வெள்ளை பூக்கள் உண்டா
உன் கண்ணில் நான் கண்டேன் ,உன் கண்கள்
வண்டை உன்னும் பூக்கள் என்பேன்
உன் கண்கள்
வண்டை உன்னும் பூக்கள் என்பேன் "
karuppu vellai,pookkal unda
Un kannil naan kandaen,un kangal
Vandai unnum pookkal enbaen,
Un kangal , vandai unnum pookkal enbaen.

Means
Are there any black and white flowers?
I have seen them in your eyes,
And these flowers tame the bees(rather than bees being the master)

(really crude translation by yours truly!)
I so loved this line that I said “aaha” with my arms extended,forgetting that iam in movie theater with my team mates all around.
Comparatively the ones in hindi don’t make much of an impact(I was humming “Guzarish” late into the night though).I got to admit that most of the songs from Rahman don’t make much of an impact into me when I hear it for the first time but when it doesn’t stick onto you while watching the movie,its purpose is lost from a movie point of you.
They have changed the “Rangola” song with some slow moving song which fits the plot a lot better.Another song I really hated in the tamil version was “X machi”.It was downright unbearable.Thankfully there is some other bearable one in hindi version

 Actors:
I personally liked Surya more than Aamir in this role.I think Aamir concentrated more on the menacing look part but Surya’s performance was well rounded. He wins hands down in the romantic interlude.While aamir looks more matured and sauve,Surya had looked more confused in “short term memory loss” stages,which suited the role perfectly.I think this lack of mature look worked well for surya in the romantic stint too,in this movie. I think age plays the spoilsport here.Aamir’s mature mannerism was perfect for his roles in TZP,RDB etc but not for this one.

Asin looks pretty as ever.I felt she looked just a little leaner(you might note that in the double decker bus seen) but a tad older(obviously..).Her playful antics about how Sanjay fell in love with her were a little irritating for my taste(may be more so because I was watching it for the second time).I generally don’t like such goofy girl characters(Bommarilu Genelia character for instance).Otherwise she plays her part aptly as per the script. The characterization is perfect and I am sure people will feel bad when she dies, which is exactly what the director wants.

Another guy who gets carried over from the tamil version is the villain.I personally liked his screen presence in the tamil version and he performs the role of the mean villain character quite well. The stature decreases a little when he is seen hiding from Gajini in the climax(that is not there in the tamil version).There is just one villain instead of the twins characterization in the tamil version.
Nayanthara’s character is done by more suitable cast. In tamil version Nayanthara was unseeable.She was too fat and was made to run all over the place ,come rain or shine.In hindi version,when Jiah khan runs,its perfectly normal(which is a major major relief).And there are no comedy scenes like the entire factory chasing her or stuff like that.
The role does not take far too much of attention and fits the script a lot more succinctly. The girl is pretty neat too and reminded me of Tamanna.

The climax:
The climax is a lot more complete than the tamil version.In the tamil Gajini,when the movie ends I was like…”ok…so…??? I mean..what the…”.But in the hindi version the director has tried to give a logical end to the story with a mushy twist,which doesn’t appeal to me much.
Personally I would have liked it if Gajini had died in the end.His purpose is done and he is gone..that would have been poetic..any takers??
He does not have any love interest too,so what the hell is he doing anyway?? :P

Direction and technical team
The biggest plus of this movie is the technical team. Murugadoss does a really neat job with the script.I really loved the way he has maintained the thrill when Asin is hunted to be killed. That’s the highest point in the movie according to me and the mood is perfectly brought out.The story  does not slack too much anywhere and for a first time viewer the various twists and turns are sure to keep him hooked to the seat.
The camera needs special mention too.There were a quite a few scenes when I really wanted to appreciate the camera man Ravi. K .Chandran. The sequence when Aamir kills his first enemy in the movie and how the lapse of time is shown beautifully without changing the shot. And in the end when Aamir walks through the narrow lanes,beating up the baddies,he is seen to be catching hold of a guy’s neck before hitting him down.That scene is shown with the victim’s point of view and has been done beautifully.There are many other moments like that.The camera was quite dynamic all through the movie(meaning:many handheld shots J) and was really rich in the songs. The location for “Guzarish” was breathtaking.
Needless to say Anthony (editing)was super cool and all the camera work wouldn’t count to much if it weren’t for his editing.I think tamil movies followers wouldn’t be too surprised as they are well aware of his abilities.. J

Conclusion:
Surely a must watch if you haven’t seen tamil Ghajini. If you had already watched tamil Ghajini, and if you are the one with similar tastes as mine and who is choosy about watching his/her movies,then you wont mind missing this one all that much…

PS : Already the article is too big,so lemme stop here J