...Anugraha

As we battle the chilly weather, I wanted to shine some light on an observation. My commute to work is incredibly tedious and long. It's not something that I fancy on a day where the temperature is cold enough to freeze boiling water. That being said, I realized while at home, staying warm, how much I missed the Good Mornings that I would hear not only at work, but also on the train. Every morning, rain or shine, when I walk to my desk, I am always greeted with a good morning from my peers. In turn, it is an automatic response for me to smile when returning the greeting. I end up smiling until I reach my desk and start working, which enables me to start my day in a good mood. On the train, the conductor, as he does his rounds for tickets says thank you to every single person as well as a good morning at every car. This not only wakes us all up, but also makes us subconsciously acknowledge that the morning is going to be "good". I've listened to many discussions...

Nearly every household in India will be eating kali and kootu today for lunch. It took me a lot of digging around to find what exactly the significance of Kali and Kootu is. When found the sweet anecdote, I couldn't resist sharing it!! So heres a story to go with your lunch today ;) Cedanar of Naukoor, a disciple of Paddinattu Adigal, used to eat only after feeding  Saiva devotees. Due to a constant bad weather, a bit like what we have now (yay snow :( ), he could not get together all the essentials for a proper meal. Thus, he had no option but to mix water with flour and prepare a mashed paste. Lord Siva understood his predicament. He wanted the people to know how sincere Cedanar's devotion was, thus, he disguised himself as a Siva devotee,visited Cendanar’s hut and enjoyed what was given to him as food. The following morning, temple attendants saw the premises scattered with the mashed paste. Lord Shiva had eaten the prasadam and it had created a mess within the templ...

"Nerupuda!" screamed the theater speakers. I looked around and saw this old mama snoring away. Next to him was an open murukku packet. He probably snuck it into the theater. Unfortunately, there were no more murukkus in it. It was a pitiful sight. Every where I turn, friendships, relationships and other ships are being questioned based on one's opinion of Kabali. I watched Kabali after reading all the reviews (sila vishayamlaam anubavichaathaan theriyum). Because I read the reviews, my expectation of the movie was severely lowered. I found myself enjoying the movie more than my family did. Many of the positive reviews that I read, claimed that people need to watch this movie as a director's film and not as a Rajni film. I like to think I tried to embody that. When we walked out of the theater, quite confused (You too, Tiger?!), my parents were karuchukottifying the movie (I'm sorry, there really isn't an English word that can truly capture the emotion b...

I recently read a beautiful novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakuruni, titled "The Palace of Illusions" . It is a retelling of the Mahabaratham from the point of view of Draupadi. Beautifully written, one can easily see the young scared girl grow into a strong queen and become the vengeful woman responsible for the Kurukshetra War. Draupadi goes through the motions of falling in love, being unconventionally married to five men, forced to undergo a harsh lifestyle due to the Pandava's misgivings, and be jealous at the other wives these men chose to take; basically, she is portrayed as any other normal woman with insecurities and the strength to face them. It is a wonderfully written book and I would highly recommend it to anyone asking. One subplot that really caught my eye was the love Draupadi had for Karna. The book states that when her Swayamvaram was planned, an artist showed Draupadi a portrait of Dhuryodhana, and she found herself gazing at Karna, who...

The frigid morning air caressed her, seeping through the woolen blanket. The dark clouds enveloped her house, shrouding it in a dewy shawl. Shuddering awake, she blinked the drowsiness away and stood. Grumbling slightly at the cold and even more at how late she was going to be for work, she hurriedly dressed and stepped out into the windy city...just as the first rain drops began to fall. As she commenced the tedious walk to her office, the aphotic skies menacingly followed, escorted by boisterous winds. The relentless rain finally forced her to accept that she would have to step indoors for a while. Spotting a little yellow cafe, she decided to go in and wait out the storm. Being late for work, already, what more would a few extra minutes do?! The cafe was a quaint little place; a few cozy sofas next to a bookshelf haphazardly adorned with old classics in various levels of wear and tear. The floor was an array of whimsically patterned rugs on which mismatched tables and chairs we...

**Check out the first part here !!** As most of you know, I was not at all enthusiastic about this trip. As we left to go for the trail, I was excited at the possibility of walking and gaining points on my new Fit Bit (which is great by the way). Gym shoes  soaked up the mud as we walked down to the trail. The sound of roaring water was enough to keep us moving. We took plenty of pictures on the way there. The stairs were made out of wood and swayed a bit as we went down. However, the descent wasn't that bad and it was actually a bit fun. When we reached the falls, my heart stopped. My God, it was amazing to see. White river rapids and such swirls rushing downwards. I just stood there awestruck at the majesty and beauty that water could show us. Well, I was awestruck the first time. A little bit more the second time (the rapids were louder). By the 5th time, however, I was done. How much nature can a girl take?! I wanted to see something cool, like a bear, or a wolf or somethi...

Perhaps one of the most awaited days (except probably the Presidential Election, but honestly Leo > President). February 28th, was monumental. Leonardo DiCaprio, after a long excruciating 22 years of waiting, won an Oscar. Now, my mom has an uncanny skill of making everything into a lecture. However, when I told her about Leonardo's grand win, what she said hit home.  "See! he didn't give up". Can you imagine fighting your way through gossip, rejections, failure, no opportunity, no money and working your way up only to have to wait 22 long years to get some recognition? I'm sure the academy had their reasons for making Leo wait so long, but still! It seems so unfair that Jared Leto could get an oscar and Leo couldn't! Why didn't Leo boycott? He was nominated so many times and never won, he could have just said "Screw it, I'm not going to act anymore!" and it would have been in his right to do so. Infact, I'm sure many of his f...

The birds chirp and the flowers bloom...well, ideally, that is what would happen. However, I live in Chicago. Therefore, the scenario would be something like.... You wake up to sunny weather at 7:30 in the morning, a brisk wind to accompany it followed by a HAIL STORM just a few hours later. Trust me, I probably can change clothes faster and more efficiently than a 90's Bollywood heroine in the middle of a duet in Switzerland. But, the weather is not the point here...Its going to be May, and irrespective of what your definition of spring is, graduation is right around the corner. Most people are usually overjoyed at graduating, whether it be high school or college, and all with fair reason! It is an accomplishment to be proud of! For most high schoolers, graduation opens up a whole world of possibilities...the idea of this magical place called 'College'. It is quite exciting! That is until you slog through four years of debt and learn absolutely nothing while trying...

In the mid of Margazhi (January), the day before the longest night of the year, almost every household will be in search of pushnikai (pumpkin), mochai (type of bean) and other various but specific groceries. The sweet smell of jaggery and fancy kolams will have adorned these abodes while blasting cooker sounds will inevitably wake you up way too early in the morning. Why? What is so special about this day? When I asked my parents these questions, they handed me my ever trustworthy Google. After some digging around I realized that this day was THE DAY to be celebrated! Why!? It was the day Lord Siva decided to create the universe! Wait a minute....Lord Shiva is often known as the destroyer. The one who "cleanses" the world. So, how can he "create" the world? Actually, he doesn't. Many people misconceive the Siva Thandavam as one dance. However, there are actually two dances; Lasya and Thandavam. Lasya is the dance that aids in the creation of the world. I...

As some of you know, I am on a current hiatus from all things curd (thayir) related. This means, no more kuzhambu, no dahi anything, no thayir vadai and no thayiru saadham. Yes, you read right, NO THAYIRU SAADHAM...sob. For those unfamiliar, originating with the concept of paal saadham (milk rice), thayiru saadham (curd rice) has represented the southern cuisine for a long time. A lot of people tend to disregard this as a common food or as something bland and I am ashamed to say I was the same for a very long time. The eye-opener was none other than a very exhilarating plane ride to India. My mother had made some thayiru saadham to bring with on the ride. I argued with her saying we are paying for their food and the airline company has to give us food and such precautions were absolutely unnecessary. My mother, as usual, disregarded my arguments and packed 2 containers full of thayiru saadham with delicious mavadu oorga (unripe mango pickle...yeah sounds better in Tamil :P ). ...

Is there magic in Nature?! The right answer, the one that everyone expects would be a loud, resounding, YES! However, my answer would be dependent on what we are talking about and whom we are seeing it with. I am not a nature person. Sure, I love planting a garden or taking a walk and spotting animals just as much as the next person, but just staring at flowers, or just looking at trees is not something that I would do. My family, and two other families, decided to plan a trip to a place called Ironwood in Michigan. Now, the total count was 10 people so we ended up booking a van. Now I would like you to imagine a nice windowed 11 seater mini bus, however the truth is sadly not that. We, and I kid you not, had a white van...not just any white van...THE WHITE VAN. Yup, the one that they use in all those kidnapping scenes in movies and TV shows. Joy. Not only was the van structured that way, it was also a haul to get in and out. The height was so much, we literally had to do pull ups...

Setting: Mel-logam/Sathyalogam:- Heaven Bhoologam:- Earth Prayanagaram:- a city created by Brahma for his son, Maarisi Characters: Brahma, Vishnu, Shivan :- Mumoorthigal (main 3 gods) Ganesa :- elephant faced hindu god (in this context, considered as the thalaivar of the mumoorthigal) Maarisi :- Son of Brahma Vedavalli :- Marasi's wife Vallabha:- incarnation of Uma (Parvati) and daughter of Marisi Parvati/Uma :- The consort of Sivan ACT 1 Maarisi asked Brahma, "who is the person to head the mumoorthigal?". Brahma explained that Ganesa was the one who had the prowess to head over them and was the only one to rightfully assume that position. That being said, Maarisi did penance for 21,000 years to gain the attention of Lord Ganesa.  It is said that Ganesa came in Mooshika Vahanam to bless Maarisi. Maarisi, in turn, asked the Lord three boons. A place, even greater than the ones the Devas have, to rule over  Parvathi or Umadevi to be reincarna...

Happy Rama Navami to everyone celebrating! So first of all, what is Rama Navami? Well, in the Hindu religion, one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu (the 7th incarnation to be exact) is Shri Rama of Ayodhya. Rama Navami celebrates his birth. Shri Rama is the central character in one of Hinduism's greatest epics; The Ramayana. The Ramayana is broken into 7 Kandam or parts. They are as follows:   Bala Kandam:   the birth and the childhood life of Shri Rama until up to Seetha's wedding to him. Ayodhya Kandam:   the coronation of Shri Rama, his exile and the kingship of Bharata Aranya Kandam : the forest life of Rama, Lakshmana and Seetha until up to Seetha's kidnapping Kishkinda Kandam:   the introduction of Hanuman and the destruction of Vali Sundara Kandam : this is the part that is originally read first, and it details the life of Hanuman until his meeting with Seetha Yuddha Kandam:   this is the part describing the battle, Seetha's purity test, ...

Tamil Nadu icon, Superstar Rajinikanth, is proven to be doing quite alright after his recent visit to the ICU. I couldn't help but laugh a little as all the major headlines read; Rajini ate a vada, two idlis and homemade plantain rasam. Well, now all the die-hard fans can follow that diet regime as well! Don't get me wrong, Rajini has clearly niched a name for himself and I do support him, but am I going to freak out if he gets an infection?! No! And nor should anyone else. As Latha Rajnikanth so aptly put, "Please understand that Rajini also has a body and is prone to infections like everybody else." So people, please calm down, nothing is going on! On that note, let’s look at Eros International and Ocher Picture Productions (Soundarya Rajinikanth's Production Company) latest endeavor, Rana, a historically-based, upcoming film of Rajini's. A fact that's driving the fans insanely excited is that Rajini is to star in 3 roles. Triple the fun! Also, I must ...

From young to old, disabled to abled, man and woman have read at least one comic book in thier lifetime. If not, I suggest you do. Its crazy how much a couple pages of graphic art and dialouges can impact a reader. Well, brace yourself because Comic Books are going to impact the WORLD! Is this another scientifically based theory, you ask? Well the answer is yes and no. Comic books have been subtly impacting the world since...well forever!! Think about it, all the best superheroes reflect the fears and themes of the societies that created them. Spider-Man (bitten by a radioactive spider) and the Incredible Hulk (accidently bombarded by gamma rays) first appeared during the Cold War, a time when everyone was worried about radiation. Some believe the X-Men, a community of mutants persecuted by humans, were allegorical of the civil rights movement. The world has reflected itself through Comics and still does. In today's society, the biggest concern people face are monsters under t...

According to India Tribune, India has decided to honor six heroines of Bollywood cinema by printing them on stamps. After sleuthing a bit, yours truly is here to give you the scoop. The earliest of these six is Padmashri Devika Rani who dominated the early silent film era. She is better known as the co-founder of Bombay Talkies. She is well known for the movie Achhut Kanya, 1936. She is also known for her discovery of the actor Dilip Kumar. She studied architechture in London where she set designed for her first husband. Later on, she became a member of the Central Government Audio Visual Education Board. She was also nominated to the National Academy of Dance, Drama, Music and Films, the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi, as a nominee of the Central Government. She was a member of the Executive Board of the National Academy, Member of the Lalit Kala Akademi and the National Handicrafts Board and Member of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Equally invaluable is the prestigious Sovi...

Chicago Academy of Indian Fine Arts is a new found organization interested in promoting quality arts at affordable prices. Comprised of several different families in Chicago, this organization strives to bring something 'fresh' to society. Their website is www.caifausa.org. You can also find them on Facebook under CAIFA Please do support and encourage thier efforts!

So i'm not sure whether or not i'm the only one who feels this way, but really, what in the world is the hype about Sun TV? Honestly speaking, how can one benefit from watching Sun TV? Dwelling deeper, the program schedule on weekdays goes something like SERIALS from sun up till sun down. Maybe thats why they named it Sun TV; you know, the same type of show..?! no?! Well, you get my point...Then there the 2:00 movie. Oh My GOD! ITS A SARATHKUMAR MOVIE...again. Seriously! Ever heard of variety?! Say, one magical afternoon, they play a fairly decent movie, a rareity, something about that movie wouldn't be appealing; it could be that specific copy, or the fact that its been played too many times. Either way, people sit and watch it. Why?! Same with the mentioned seirals, WHY?! What satisfaction does one get from watching horrible actors/actresses cry, shout, kill, etc. Why does one waste time watching someone walk from the bathroom to the living room while wailing music plays ...

The already crazed streets of Chennai become louder and faster than ever before during the month of December. Not only residents of India, but Indians from abroad add to this pleasant chaos. Why? Whats so special about this month? To summarize in 2 words: December Season. The annual festival of classical music and dance has come to be known as the 'December season'. High class concerts are held in December through into January in major venues throughout Chennai. Being the Tamil month of Margazhi, a time for devotion - the dawn of the Gods, December Season is celebrated in astonishing splendor. The December Music season came to stay when The Music Academy began holding concerts during its first annual conference in 1929. They then decided that the concerts could be held during the week of Christmas. The courts were closed during that period and many were having several rounds of merrymaking. The native society leaders were at a 'break' and this gave them something ...

The term Intonation in music means, put simply, producing notes that are in tune. It is what we would call śruti śuddham. The most important factor for producing a note in tune is possessing an accurate outlook of that note. Once this is present, intonation is developed by practicing to match the note we produce with this standard. In Carnatic music, of course, we do not have an "absolute note" -- they are all relative to the chosen reference ṣaḍjamam. Thus, for perfect intonation, a keen sense of hearing is absolutely essential. When performing in large halls, musicians hear their own instruments only very faintly. And there isn't enough echo either. So, intonation becomes a big challenge. Now, an accompanying Carnatic artist has a tougher problem -- he needs to be able to hear the main performer as well. Furthermore, an instrument that is initially tuned perfectly to the taṃbūrā, may go out of tune during the course of the concert; and the musician needs to be able t...