Illaya Nila

Those that have heard Ilaya Nila from Payanangal Mudivathilay must have four things etched ever so deep in their limbic systems. Not in any particular order, these could be:

1. The guitar pieces, especially the one that carries the song at its end

2. SPB and Ilayaraja

3. The expectation this song creates for the others in this film, and

4. The word "nila" - which is "the moon" in English.

Nila then becomes a word of context, a pattern to look out for in other SPB hits.

One

Little Lucky woke up with a surprised look on her face. The sunlight streamed into her bedroom through a gap in the lace curtains. She blinked, then squinted her right eye, and rubbed both her eyes with her little hands.

Lucky spent a moment sitting still - holding the Bugs Bunny duvet in her arms. She looked around the room and decided to go downstairs. She could smell the waffles and honey being served in the kitchen; the strong aroma of Dad's coffee mixed in well. She felt for her bunny slippers sitting on the edge of her bed. Almost automatically, she had them on.

As she walked out of her room, Lucky peered into her brother's room. His bed was made, pillows neatly stacked. She could hear him from downstairs.

"Must have his mouth full," she thought with a wry smile, then reflected on his immaculate room. "But then he's nine, three years older. The responsibility's good for him."

Uranus

(Arthi and S, this is about the planet - so no grinning...) This is a response A's message to my older post.

With over 20 moons, and some having Shakespearean character names, and it's unique tilt, rings and orbital dispositition, Uranus could be a planet to watch out for. I also have a strange feeling that life on the planet is a possibility, however primitive.

Meeting

This afternoon, I ran into an old friend, a classmate, I haven't seen in years. He's doing well - at Big Blue in Bangalore.

You know, sometimes a long gap between meetings shows up something that we didn't notice about people we know well before. This particular individual is more suave, a lot more precise with his words, and is a LOT better at spoken English (not that I am any better :)). Oh, he would be getting married this year, too. Best wishes to him!

"Row, row, row your boat"

It is kind of like how that nursery rhyme went: just stop to think when you get to "Life is just a dream."
Murali and I touched on one of our fav topics - nothing Darwinian - but the fact that many of our saints in the past (Adi Shankarar, Ramanujar, Thirunavukarasu) had had visions of seeing God. We touched on a few questions along the discussion:

• "Mela poyachu" மேல போயாச்சு - Why does heaven get to be above (and vice-versa)?
• Why does your current life get the results of what you did in your past life (when you can't even recall who you were or what you did)?
• How does God really look like? Human features?
• Your "atma" has no likes/dislikes, positive/negative actions attached to it - it is the body, the container, that gets involved in these tendencies: then, why does the body suffer? (This question becomes more quizzical if you factor past-life karmas...)
• And, of course, the most common of 'em all, "What is the purpose of our lives?" The big picture. Not our individual goals, rather, the collective, universal, goal.

A new day

Today, my friend begins her new life back at her hometown with a new job.

It would be great reliving the opportunities of meeting new people, learning new things, creating new memories (and forgetting older ones at the last workplace).

I remember reading somewhere that adapting at a new workplace is one of the most stressful activities.

But not for this girl. It will be a piece of cake!

"Mata ki Jai!"

The drama at Rani Seethai Hall on Sunday, August 30, 2009 was awesome.Chennai Drama House's Indru Poi Netru Vaa was the show.

The drama showcased hard-nosed office-politics, with the usualaspiration: managers vying for promotion. The interspersed humor withthe (fake?) swamiyar's "Mata ki jai!" kept the tone going.

If you happen to be in Madras on September 13, 2009, do drop in at theMylapore Fine Arts on Oliver Road at 6.30 pm.