Iyengar veetu azhage!

While I was relentlessly thinking of topics for my blog which has been devoid of posts for a longtime now, I was listening to this song "Iyengar veetu azhage" and was simultaneously looking at one of my friend's wedding pictures....(She belongs to the Brahmin caste, more sepcifically Iyer, which is a class within the Hindu society).

While there are a lot of differences between Iyers and Iyengars, what caught my attention the most was the way they tie the madisaar! [Phew!!!I know what you guys are thinkin'....Women indeed never change!!!], I have tied an authentic madisar once during my school days for a fancy-dress competition (wonder what they thought was fancy here!) and I loved it! And like Monica in F.R.I.E.N.D.S, "If only there was a job where I could wear it all the time!!!".....So, I started looking into Iyer kattu and Iyengar kattu and also watched a few tamil movies where women tie the madisar......Oorvasi in MMKR, Kamal in Avvai Shanmugi and Shreedevi in "Meendum Kokila" wear the Iyer kattu and Vasundhra Das in Hey Ram wears the Iyengar kattu AND I am not all surprised all of them are Kamal movies!!! :)

Virtual Stock Exchange for Cricketers!

Cricket and stock trading enthusiasts!!!

Check out this cool website:
www.cricstock.com

CricStock is a stock exchange with a difference. Here, stocks of cricketers are traded instead of companies. Once you register with the website, you get 1 million units of 'virtual' money. Using this money, you can participate in the initial public offering of current international cricketers. Once the stocks are alloted to you after the IPO, you earn further virtual money through dividends(which are decided by the actual performance of the cricketers) and by intelligently trading stocks in the secondary market. Register right away!!!! You could have amazing fun during the world cup!

My first snow!!!!

And it was just like I'd always imagined!!!I am totally excited.....Sitting by the window with a mug of coffee and watching the snow settle down on the window panes has been awesome......I really really wish I had some company to go out and start playing with the snow....I want to make a snowman :( Nevertheless feeling and smelling the fresh snow was wooooooow!!!!

Let me be the crazy girl who goes all gaga over the snowfall! But who cares!
And Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Happy Valentines day folks!

sugama....

anbe sugama....
un dhaabangal sugama....
thalaiva sugama,sugama?
un thanimai sugama,sugama?

kannam rendu sugama
en kadaisi mutham sugama?
undhan kattil sugama...
en otrai thalaiyanai sugama?

anbe unnai pirindhen
en arivil ondrai izhandhen
veliye azhudhal vetkam endru
vilakkai anaithu azhudhen!

vaazhkai oru vattam pol
mudindha idathil thodangaadha!

annaikaaga.....

malar pola malargindra manam vendum thaaye
palar potri paaraatum gunam vendum thaaye

varam tharum annaiye
vananginom unaiye!

oru noyum theendamal anai podu thaaye
nadhi kaaya neraamal neer ootru thaaye
nan nilam paarthu neeye!

eliyorai magizhvaaka vazhi kaatu thaaye
valiyorgal vaataamal vagai kaatu thaaye
en valamaana thaaye!

pasi dhaagam kaanamal payiraaku thaaye
rasiporgal sevi thedi isai ootu thaaye
isai paatu endrendum inipaaku thaaye!

pugazh selvam nalam kalvi kuravindri vaazha
puvi meedhu irai gnaanam emai endrum aala
pon kuriyaamal vaazha!

arulodu porul bedham arivodu gnaanam
thelivodu dhinam kaanum nilai vendum
adhu thiralaaga vendum!

pala veedu pala naadu pala dhesam endru
unaraamal vaazhvorai ondraaku thaaye
uravodu magizhvodu emai maatru thaaye!

Yay!!

Yay! I successfully complete 1 week at work and it was just today I felt, "Ahhh! Finally, I am making some progress!"....

A lot of things happened in the past 1 week....

1. I moved to Pittsburgh,PA
2. Started my new job - Corporate world,the perks and the free stuff rocks!!!
3. I got to experience my first snow in the U.S - It was mind blowing! (first day was a charm....Not anymore!)
4. I went to the Pittsbugh venkatachalapathy temple - made famous by manirathnam and sujatha in the movie aayutha ezhuthu! during the weekend (the moment i knew I got a job in pittsburgh, all that came to my mind was the scene from aayutha ezhuthu, where siddarth tells trisha (I am totally lou-struck!...I knowwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!)
5. I got an offer from Cisco yesterday, three days after I joined Network Appliance!

adieu Lafayette!!!

I am leaving a second home....Yes, I am leaving Lafayette for good to start my new job in Pittsburgh,PA. I've been totally busy with my job search and other stuff for the past few weeks and did not find time to write about my interview experiences and about whats happening with me. Would like to come back and write about it once I get settled at PA.
Lastly, thanks everyone at Lafayette for those 2 years of fun and support! Will miss this place so much!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays :)

And enjoy the best Christmas song ever!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=995csL2wmRA

The coolest thing ever!

One of my friends sent me the following link this morning...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0BdAdRL_2Wo

This is funny as hell and this guy owns!!! I got goosebumps watching this!

Check it out guys.....

Cant get better!

My day-to-day life can never be complete without quoting something from this audio clip! So famous!!!

Listen to it here:

http://www.pixfolder.com/viewmovie.php?file=7025.mp3

Smells and Memories.....

As I gently open the rice cooker lid, I cant seem to get enough of the smell of the freshly cooked rice with the steam.....All of us experience this in our day-to-day lives...But the experience is just so out of the world that I wanted to write a post on it!!!

Smells have this strong power of vividly bringing back memories....of people, places, things and incidents....
Here are a few ones:

Petrichor.....or in Tamil "manvaasanai" - My childhood days when I would be gazing through the window, waiting for the rain to stop to play with my fellow mates....

Smell of photocopies and new notebooks - When I rushed to the nearest shop 2 hrs before the exam to make copies of my classmate's notes.....and the smell of new notebooks when you put on brown covers and labels just 2 days before the school reopens!

Petrol - When I used to ride the scooty and when it stopped half way, would walk to the nearest gas station.....

Crackers - The smell of crackers during Diwali after they are all burnt out with the million pieces of papers lying on the road!

Incense sticks - When appa does pooja at home with the camphor and incense sticks burning and when u prostrate before Him, that is divine!

Rasam with the coriander - The smell of amma's home made rasam with the coriander and curry leaves on a late Sunday Morning.....Wowwww!!! (Can anything ever beat this??)

Smell of coffee @ StarBucks - The million times I've gone to Starbucks, just because I luv the smell of coffee there.....

And many more....

As always, contributions welcome!

Yipeeeeee!I'm graduating today!

Yes, Its a BIGGGGGGGGGGG day! I'm graduating today and I'm no more a student!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Sandyyyyyyyyyyyy.........

Wishing you a fabulous birthday Sandy....Have a fantastic year ahead!

Endrum Natpudan...... - Part III

Sasi : Fondly called as "Bhattar", he's the next Vaali! He writes amazing poems in tamil.....Here's a link to one of those poems which I loved:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7291/2314/1600/kangal.5.jpg







Subha a.k.a Vaathu a.k.a dubuks: She cooks awesome, has been responsible for us having good food at Lafayette and is an awesome host. Has great taste in choosing the right outfits.....With the little telugu she knows, she's made many of us in the group speak telugu.






Sumi: The fitness-freak of the gumbal....Has a great sense of humor and she's the only one who has the ability to manage people like Chowdhry and pay them back on their own coin.





Sundar: The proud founder of the IHRC - I Hate Raji Club and the ko.pa.se (kolgai parapu seyalaalar) of the club. The club is going great guns only because of him. Talks strictly in long sentences, digs out and analyzes anything to the core before accepting the facts.






Viji: The greatest Rajinikanth Fan I have or without exaggeration, the world has ever seen! Nothing motivates/energizes more than a Rajinikanth song/movie. She's terrifically confident and I just luv the way she carries herself.



And finally!



Me: ??????







The above space is for people (no one knows me better than these folks) to write about me!

Folks, we are an awesome group and lets live endrum natpudan!


(Photo Courtesy: Santhosh)
(Thanks for making this awesome collage Sandy!)

Endrum Natpudan......- Part-II

Karthik: Thalaivaa........He's been our "thalaivar" and will always continue to be! and has awesome driving skills!







Prashanth Parate: Fondly known as "opicer" to all of us, his views on many things in life seems weird or rather unconventional to many of us! Have many a time fallen in love with the way he programs in Java and Oracle.....and he's my birthday buddy!





Prabhu a.k.a PShan: A complete workaholic and a total perfectionist, be it anything. He's an awesome dancer!









Raji: Has the reputation of having the group form a club for her! Her accented Tamil has gained her the name TR.....She's a very level-headed person and has plenty of patience.





Santhosh a.k.a Sandy: The epitome of sincerity and orderliness! Is a very mature and helpful person and has many a times played the role of the mentor to a few kids in the group! (what say chowdhry and cheems??)

Endrum Natpudan......- Part-I

There's just been one thing thats been exciting to think about in the past 3-4 days.....It is the feeling that I am going to be seeing my closest circle of friends tomorrow.....Yes, they all are coming to Lafayette for the graduation ceremony on Saturday...
These are folks with whom I've spent most of my time in Lafayette, who've undergone the same experiences I underwent in this place and they have just been my world for the past 2 and half years. I am really looking forward to seeing them and having a great, fun weekend....

I am sure this is a loooooooooong post, but, its worth it and these folks deserve this! There's just too much to write about each and everyone, so I'm writing one line about everyone that flashes on my mind when I think about them.

Here we go, meet the dudes and dudettes!


"Jiljivappu" Aarthi: The name says it all! We've had the funniest times listening to her futile attempts at speaking tamil....A few examples to prove this fact: jiljivappu, rendu eedu thuni.....








Aravind a.k.a D-Ma : Popularly known as "Dma", he and his camera have been responsible for us being able to treasure memories of all our times spent together....





Shrimathi a.k.a Cheems: The youngest in the group and the hyper-active girl! Her enthusiasm is too contagious......




Chowdhry a.k.a Beedi: Calls himself "Mr.Palmanasukaaran" and his acrobatic skills have never failed to impress "many". This guy is a "cheapo" (for obvious reasons) and has been a major source of entertainment to the group.





Gokul a.k.a GD: Nobody can ever beat GD in cracking a joke at the right time. His sense of humor and the "nakkal" dialogues has always kept the group alive!


I'm not able to upload more pics...Check out part-II and part-III.....

The post-India trip

While I went to India, the long 16 hrs flight from Atlanta to Mumbai seemed to pass by in minutes..It was just exactly opposite when I came back to US. It felt like years when I reached Atlanta. I was travelling alone and the loneliness was just killing me.

P and K were there to see me at the Lafayette airport and I felt good seeing them. We reached home and left my baggages at home and was off to dinner with P's and S. The moment I sat inside our fondly called "lachumi", it felt too damn empty.... C and P, memories of you keep flooding when we went to the chinese restaurant last night, in Lafayette itself, in C's home and lachumi feels so empty without u guys man! C and S, we miss u people a lot! Life actually seems to suck so much in Lafayette right now with P also leaving the town tomorrow.

We have decided to make jobs asap and leave this place forever. Can never stay alone in this place at all. and to add on, I have been having total jet lag from the time I came here. I slept at 9 PM on Monday night and got up only at 8 PM last night completing a 24 hour sleep and I have been up all night writing blogs, watching movies and chatting. The thoughts of looking for a job has been haunting too....So, to put it in one line,
"life and loneliness suck right now!"

This is the exact feeling post-India trip!

The awesome India trip!

From the moment I landed in Chennai, until I left, there was not even one single moment where I didnt enjoy. My best bud and my chithi were there at the airport to see me and I felt too damn happy seeing them. Was excited to see the chennai crowd, to listen to those early morning songs in the tea-kadais, to see the pallavan buses, to listen to FM, to see those huge posters,advertisements and boards about new movies, to feel the early-morning breeze which said "sorgame endraalum adhu namma oora pola varumaa" on my face, and to just know you are in a place that totally belongs to you!

Went to my chithi's place where she had steaming idlis,coconut chatni and sambar for breakfast. And after a real heavy breakfast, my friend came and picked me up for my medical checkup the next day. Had a thorough medical checkup done the next day and I was peaceful to know I was completely alright. Spent the next 2 days with my cousin and with her super-cute kid and never missed to have a single heavy meal in the 1 week I spent in India.

And, sudden change of plans, my parents couldnt make it to Chennai and so I had to travel to Kenya to see them. So, booked tickets to Kenya. And tears rolled down my cheeks when I saw my mom at the airport. So, had a wonderful 8 days at Kenya where amma made every possible dish that I liked. Bascially, Kenya-la rest eduthu rest eduthu tired aagiten.

And then, the last 4 days in India were good! I spent a lot of time with my friends at the beach, spencers and watched movies. Did lil bit of shopping too. Finally the day came when I had to leave Chennai which was the worst feeling ever. I never wanted to!

The pre-India trip!!

I am just back from an awesome trip to India...and here I am, blogging after a very long time. After my appy surgery, I lost all hopes of going to India and I was feeling very bad and lonely staying home most of the time watching movies and just whiling away my time doing nothing. And, I had my doctor's appointment for removing the stitches of the surgery on the 16th Nov. I had a wish (to call it precisely "napaasai", in tamil) somewhere in the corner of my heart to go to India and somehow that day I got the guts to ask the doctor if I could travel, at the same time, mentally getting prepared to face the "certainly No" answer he was going to give me because it had only been a week and a half since the surgery got over.

But I was surprised/shocked at his "defnintely Yes. I dont see any reason why you cannot travel!".....I literally jumped at his answer. I did not even think for a second after he told me so. and then came the question of tickets to India. Thanks to the super-smart Charlie, he had not cancelled my tickets to India after my surgery, rather he had postponed it to the 20th of November. That means, I had 3 more days to pack and leave. 3 days seemed a lot to me. I was just prepared to leave the next day given a chance.

This time, I wasnt developing too much expectations and kept it low until I definitely landed in Chennai. 3 days - I did some shopping, V came over for the weekend and helped me pack stuff..Thanks V!

Watched the awful Borat movie,(totally disgusting movie, please dont watch it for anyone who hasnt seen it yet) and had a nice dinner at the local Indian Restaurant trying to break Charlie's vows and rules he had promised himself. The last 2 days were fun, playing with C's fishes and working on their class project.

Came 20th Nov, 10:00 AM and I was all set to leave. This was one time, I have prayed so much in my life, not to let anything happen to deter the India trip. And, I bid a warm goodbye to C and S,coz I wont be seeing them again. I couldnt express much to them, but the final hugs at the airport before going through the security checkin brought tears....

And, then, took the long 16 hrs flight (which seemed to just pass by in minutes) from Atlanta to Mumbai and when I landed in India, the excitement was just too much, I was literally overpowered by the excitement.
The feeling was awesome!!!!Kudos to me for managing to recover well post-surgery, for having the guts to take a bold decision to travel! It did a world of good to me!