God of Cookery (1997) [* * * * *]

I'm in love with Stephen Chow.:) There's something incredibly attractive about chinese features, especially one with laughing eyes, and coupled with a lean muscled body ... irresistable. What's more he's talented - writes, directs, acts in all his movies and the stories are creative and sensitive (like in Shaolin Soccer when he tastes a salty steamed bun by the girl he just rejected, he realises that the salt is from her tears - very touching moment. I've watched it a hundred times just to watch his eyes soften:).

This one is about an arrogant chef who loses his job to a plot and works with a street vendor to build up an empire again. There are gods that appear - very Indian themed movies.

I'll just mention another which is very indian (I watched it in chinese so didn't quite follow the nuances), the one called A Chinese Odyssey which has a bunch of gods and mortals interacting like the old tamil movies.:)

If fine is fine why refine?

These are times when something has to be refined to win the market, gone are the days when original is best from nature.

The public is being duped with words of natural, yet refined and double refined.

Let us clarify things.

Those that are got from nature,are safe, edible,with no complications to the body, the impurities that folks say which are present can be removed with simple maneuvers, if one remembers the chemistry class,where the difference between mixtures and compounds was so well explained and differentiated.

Cleaning stones, sand and dust do not need chemical refineries, beware of what we get as refined products.

Think of all the refined products we get from rice, flour,the list is long,the things that are removed are sold, the remaining stuff is good for a long shelf life,devoid of good things which will not get spoil t as there is nothing to be spoil t, let us select what we want and find a person who will get them for us.

There are folks, who know nature and love to keep her and her secrets safe for the welfare of mankind. You will find them when u understand the theory.

A pick of the pickles

I was pulled from within the home, with a call of " ooruga ooruga".

The vendor was a man who had a long pole across his shoulders, and balanced well at their ends were two bamboo baskets hanging like the lady of justice with the balancing pans.

It was a sight to behold in these days of vending, he had a variety of tupperware boxes, and when asked to show his wares, the collection of goose berries, mango and lime and bitter gourd and ginger pickles in the plastic containers were a sight of color.

We picked the ginger, as we already had mango and lime; we have planned to try the goose berries the next time.

We shall see if this new pickles man will get the blessings of the lady of the home, to get tried for his other assortments of pickles.

Lost in the loo, to discover hidden truths

We have heard of Albert playing with soap bubbles, and Archimedes running out from the bath to announce his discovery.

Many a hidden truth is discovered in this place which seems to have invisible antenna to the scientific world, in its relaxed state of easiness.

May be it won’t be long when ' do not disturb ' sign hangs on them as inventory laboratories, to bring on things to demystify the world for the benefit of mankind and not for its destruction.

Despicable Me (2010) [* * * * *]

Again, Disney, and again, really good. When I first heard the name, I thought it would be a very average movie with very average humour. But it had a Saki-like quality which was fantastic - exploring how children accept the most unsavory characters without question and usually change them for the better. The reason most people grow mellow after having kids.

A villain adopts 3 orphans to get into his rivals home and finds himself enjoying their company more than being villainous. The adventures that follow, as he goes to steal the moon to be considered the criminal of the century, make them closer as a family.

Tangled (2010) [* * * * *]

This is the story of Rapunzel, one of my favorite scary fairy tales. As with all Disney productions, a very polished piece. The only really annoying thing about American movies is american flippancy that's crept into movies - the put-downs, the droll expressions - I don't think I liked it even as a child.

But seeing as they can't help apologizing for making naive, tender adventures for children, even out of the dark Hans Christian Anderson tales, one can appreciate Disney for not slacking on the work that goes into it.

There's the usual adorable pair of animal companions - a chameleon and a horse detective and an unusual take on why Rapunzel is locked in the tower. That's one more of the 'why's of childhood answered to my satisfaction.:)

Santa comes to town

It was nearing 7 in the evening and the mosquitoes had started attacking the unprotected ones with their stings.

A faint sweet music was in the air, like being in a church and the choir voices were in the darkness, getting ones out of the seats to look who was around .
Far away a group was on the move and slowly focused into Santa Claus and his admirers from around the village.

They were with the instruments of music and voices of sweetness singing Christmas carols, and warming the chillness of the December air, distributing sweets to the children on the road, who had collected to share the happiness.

There was Santa all red with white trimmings on his simple robe, he was all smiles in the mask and held out a hand that i shook with genuine pride.
they passed the street reminding us of the time to share our happiness with others to make the whole world a joyous home of togetherness.

Merry Christmas to u all, and all of u have a wonderful time all thro' the year end and the coming year.

( when i read this to Mrs Gardner , she said she missed Santa Claus, i told her he is going to get her a saree from kangeepuram for her, she is still on the look out for him)

Tron Legacy (2010) [* * * * * *]

Its hard to describe how awesome a 3D movie can be unless you have seen it - this one was particularly superb. I didn't expect much when I went to the theatre (expect to spend a lot of money, which we did:) but thanks to St_Lightstorm, we got those 3D glasses!

I'd say this movie is a must-see for the visual, if you're watching it with those headachy 3D glasses - then its a spectacular treat.

The story is a different only because 2 software guys get trapped in their software world and have to race against time and fantastic bikes to get out.

The Chronicles of Narnia Trilogy [* * * * *]

It is rare that film-makers get to make trilogies in fantasy - there are few but they're brilliant - like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, X-men, Harry Potter, etc.

This is based on 7 books by C.S. Lewis, a friend and contemporary of J.R.R. Tolkien, to teach children christian values (yes, I almost hate it for that reason too- but atleast it is honest about a religious aim, unlike most stories:).

The first, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, introduces us to the 3 children displaced by war and sent to a distant uncle for protection. There they struggle to find themselves as a family when they come across a land called Narnia hidden in the back of a wardrobe. The whole adventure is a lesson to them to stick together as family, not to betray each other and to trust even in the littlest voice for truth as they try to save the world of Narnia from the Witch.

The second is about Prince Caspian which I found far more interesting. They return to Narnia after a thousand years to save it from destruction again. In the Voyage of the Dawn Treader only two of them return to learn a few lessons in courage and self-acceptance for imminent adulthood.

The Iron Giant (1999) [* * * * * *]

This is a terrific story about a friendship between a boy and an iron alien and how their relationship changes both of them (and saves the world).

I think adults have children only to relive their own childhood differently, with more control, like a reeducation. I've believed that since my parents have enjoyed childrens movies and comics more than we kids have, and now that I'm older, I've got the same urge to understand my values through my inner child's eyes.

The boy saves the giant as he was getting electrocuted and they become friends. All children overcome their fear of animals or other humans only by doing something extraordinarily good in a very difficult situation, earning a trust that lasts a lifetime. Without that extra effort the two remain monsters to each other - if only more children (inside adults too) got the education of movies like this to learn some kindness, our streets would be safer for animals and our skies for aliens.

Every one to their own speed

nHasty Harry and slow poky Tortoise are extremes,Man is the balanced middle, the right pace.

The haste makes a waste,slow and steady wins the race, story has been repeatedly told,and many a man has been slowed to a pace of a tortoise, man has a speed of his own and when he finds that i am sure he is off to not only win races, but also reap honors of the intelligent kind, when he takes rests and bring on inventions of the latest needs.

The creative talents of man is being explored more than the discoveries of the natural world, may more encouragements be made to tap them, than slacken the speed and dampen the spirits with races of the animal kind.

Pinched Ears

Many an ear has been pinched and turned in school ,to do better in class.

The actions of the teachers have been misunderstood as a punishment then , but now science has unfolded truths that says centers in the ear have got correlating parts with the brain, that makes one more bright and sharp and enhances learning.

Many of us have a remembrance of those days, and the famous topukaranams ( squats with crossed arms pinching ones own ear lobes).

Now that we realize the truths of those punishments, may we pardon the teachers for their kind corrections .

These words are in memory of them.

( caning with well oiled bamboo sticks do not come under this category, and memories are still afresh of them, on the butts and palms.)

Geography answers for History questions

How would our answer sheets get a correction for a mistake of answering a wrong subject material, it gets to be thrown out.

Let us compare the congress passing a bill for cash for clunkers which helps in getting a new car, fuel efficient ,in exchange for old ones, and slipping a bill which destroys our rights to our own food, called Food safety bill.

With this bill we will not be able to get fresh produce from the village markets, only factory farming from now on and worse things to follow.

The elders teach us rules, no cheating, honesty is the best policy, and conveniently forget to live by them, when it comes to ruling.

The ones who have been elected are either playing safe or are ignorant to a level of stupidity.
It may seem like ,'why should we be bothered with the Congress of America'.!

A bill passed there gets passed across the world next, this is what happened with artificial sweeteners called aspartame with Donald Rumsfeld then, and now the whole world is affected with it to a state of shameness and illness "we cant do any thing now"is the echo heard all across the globe, most not even aware that aspartame is a poison, willingly consumed by the mass.

The Americans have forgotten to ask questions of their rulers, and have become silent acceptors of their masters, which means they are slaves, and if we do not,your guess is as good as mine.

Parker with Quink

I had a nice Parker pen as a gift for my words that my dad thought i drew, his encouragement for the importance of words meant much to me, he could see some thing which i felt was only an expression of the mind in art.

It was an importance to use it for my village fingers, the Royal Blue of Quink the recommended ink for the status of Parkers.

The simple exercises that we were given to follow, for the easy flow of words were so cute, that i do them at this age with thankfulness for its expressions, whose practice does not make us sweat, but brings on fluency of breath to the fingers, and the hand as a whole.

The handwriting that is so termed has been forgotten that if we notice, it is the fingers that are writing, and the hand as a full component is forgotten, the flow of the hand is not there, the movements missing, all things are stiff and the scribble is only at the fingers.

How lucky it was some one did notice these small things for us to change,adapt, difficult and painful, but worth a revolution to bring on, and continue the letters of beauty and grace, to the English Language.

Yoga Nidra

An invitation into yoga for the lazy and bed affectionate and "no time" tellers, it sounded just right for our kind.
(The world knows yoga as only gymnastic postures for the body bending activists, it is a state of oneness, in which body postures help to attain.)

We enrolled and were asked to get into loose sleepy clothes and a warm bed, on the day of the class, we took it for fun those words, but were surprised when we were asked on arrival where was the simple bed and pillow.( with laughter)

The master talked about nidra (sleep) and how it could be made to a state of yoga, (oneness) making use of the disturbances during sleep to our advantage.

There is a temple in Srirangam in Trichy and in Tirupathy foot hills, where the deity is in an asleep posture on a bed of snake on the waves of the sea, may be the elders then had a class in their times,like it is for us to explain things in ritual form and worship.

The class has a few meditations techniques, each one let a few of us even snore, all the techniques were to make us aware even during our sleep, and yet have a deep sleep, we have been given schedules to practice them on a monthly basis to last us a full year, we are practicing yoga nidra,for a sound sleep and a full day of activity.

So here we are snoring away with awareness to attain what comes with it in time.

Ear Blasters

The whole world has given up the bull horn speakers, but not us ,we are importing all the throw always for the brain washing of the general public with them, and with it the palpitating heart, the ear pain and more that go along with the incredible sound pollution .

There is an area of empty space at the village bus stop, that is always kept so for the dais that gets pulled up at a days notice for the election campaign of the various parties.

In preparation for the evenings speech, a day long play of songs and speeches of parties are played up with the help of players and recording hi fi, the bull horn speakers are tied up to the telephone post and other line ups and taken up to a distance of a few hundred yards, there they are for the full day noisily spelling the dos and do nots and won and lost ideas of the future days to come.

The finale is at the evening when there is a darshan of the chiefs and local representatives and more ideas, heart thumping of their credits and booing s of the other parties.


Not all are in this trade, yet many are offered the mike so u can imagine the results, there is this yell into the mike, at odd times of the day and night for the benefit of the whole place,

Some checking on the strength of the mike material ,with a tap, some calling for that distant cousin at the far end if he can hear him, with a blow of a breeze, that would sound like a storm.

Well what ever the bull horn is sure to stay high up in the post, where it has reached .

Sprouted oats sandwich

The paper cone makes a great package, accidentally brought on by the ice cream vendor at a carnival, when his cups got over for the creams of ice.

The village market attracts the early morning gossipers to tea shops to warm the heels and palms and glance at the news papers and hear the village hum drums, parking on wooden planks as benches.

Many a bun relish- er has switched over to the sprouted oats, thanks to the constipated ones, who are promoting this change for the betterment of the lucky ones, for a small token of 3 rupees a cone.

Those who have been addicted to the British styled bread eating, the local bakeries have been cajoled to try the wheat bread with willing customers, so here we have in this village a novelty for a try,sprouted oats, green gram and mung dal a blend, they go great with the wheat bread to make a sandwich fit for an English man or a nutrition conscious dietitian.

Louis - we did not hear u

Louis Pasteur’s last words were" it is not the germs that cause the disease, but the terrain where the germs are found that are the cause of the disease".

These words were buried along with him, and they remain in the pages of history, quietly tucked away within books safely nestled in libraries, which rarely get disturbed until folks get to read them again.

In 2006 there was a scare of spinach, it was framed for having E Coli found among them and whole packs of them discarded, though it was only from a few ranches, the scare was for all and it was caused by wild pigs trampling on them, the bugs are commonly found in cattle manure, E. coli do not grow on plants.( so we can realize , some one played intermediate)

Until we get to understand that the bacteria by them selves cannot harm us, unless they have been tampered with and our system softened up, we are foot ball to the kickers of this scram.

Natural food is being destroyed and people scared to avoid them,for reasons of safety.

But junk eats which do not get spoilt even after years are allowed to be eaten!!!(did u notice I did not use the word food - food will get to be acted upon by organisms)

Plastic eatables are avoided by organisms that get things back to nature.

Let us have a quiz, set your own timers.

Which large eating joint offers buns and pizzas and all the fillings which can be saved and found to be same after years?

Yes, yours is the right answer.

A SACK WEEPS FOR ATTENTION

I love mother nature, and if there is a moment to express it i would not hesitate.

Sea water has all the ingredients that are there in the periodic table, many in trace amounts unpronounceable and difficult for those who are not used to the chemical words.

Sea salt and any thing that is natural and organic seems to be a bad word for the government agencies and for their coffer fillers or spenders.

I have made inquiries how some thing that is natural can be considered bad and an artificial salt good for health, advertised all day and night long as memory boosters.

Many have asked how can u promote a product , other than what the government and scientific white coated doctors say is best.

A pity i belong to the minority, but i have managed to convince myself first for its benefits and scientific data and now there is a grocery man who managed to get one sack of sea salt and has it outside his shop and, due to its hygroscopic nature it collects water and there it lies seeking attention for its benefits for mankind on our village roadside.

Shaolin Soccer (2001) [* * * * * *]

This is another brilliant movie by Stephen Chow. If we compare this to what has been produced previously or since 2001, you'll see there are very few Hong Kong and Hollywood movies that match up.

The story is of a group of shaolin kung fu students who're leading miserable lives in the real world despite being masters of their craft. One of them is a rag picker, Stephen Chow, who meets a soccer coach by accident and kicks a can into outer space. They round up the rest and begn training them into a team which goes on to win every game they play. In the finals though, they're pitted against an evil coach's team who has them taking super-drugs and the struggle is epic.

Its highly entertaining, very well-made and a neat storyline. Its fun to see the usual wire air stunts in a different context than choreographed fighting.:)

If u see some thing say some thing

I see the rays of the morning sun shining through the clouds and forming a band of golden path lightening up the sky.

I see the bright and lucky kids going to school waving their lunch boxes and back packed book bag, i also see them sharing their lunches sitting in the shade of the peepal tree, happy and giggling.

I see the beautiful women of home doing the marketing, their clothes as colorful as the fruits and vegetables on trade.

I see the rushes of the work force, off for their job to catch the timely buses at their stations.
The flower vendors and their way of calculating the length of the flowers weaved with the pith cuttings of the bananas, on their forearms is a sight to behold.

I still see that rare bullock cart on the road with the truck tires, the oxen chewing the cud with satisfaction

There are so much more things to say of what i see, but i do not think this is what the ones who coined this phrase want us to say of what we saw.

Do u have words to say of what u saw?

Kung Fu Hustle (2004) [* * * * * *]

I've always thought kung fu movies could have been more comic for relief from the endless choreographed fights, but until I saw Stephen Chow's movie, I didn't think they had it in them.

This movie had scenes that reduced me to helpless laughter. It had great action, terrific humour and a little romance. Well worth watching for a relaxed Sunday!

The story is of a young guy who can't succeed at anything and goes from being a petty thief to wanted to be a member of the Axe Gang. He gets injured in a fight with a kung fu master which sets his chi flowing freely and ends up a master fighter himself, for the good side.

An exhibition at the school

It was another day of school,but with a difference, an exhibition was organized and the kids were the organizers with the help of the teachers, and the parents were the participants of the show, trying out games and listening to the children say their projects and themes.

The primary kids were showing us the zoo with the Britannia animals we got with the tooth paste those days, pointing the animals, sweet it was, others showed us the traffic signals and emergency ambulance services, and environmental friendly factories with gardens around them with thermocol cut outs, and many uses of Palmyra tree, wonderful work of exhibits for the kids.

The middle school kids showed their skill with maths puzzle teasers which made us feel jealous, we never had such exhibits of maths to make it feel like a game to study, the 9th table exhibited with pencil stand was a wonder.

Fruits, vegetables and herbs were at display with the kids explaining the contents and their benefits.

I suddenly had a child at my side, " i can tell u the day of your birth and how old u are" i willed and out came the right answer with his maths skill, and one child who could not make me understand her questions shifted the language to my level of understanding and got me worked up on her maths puzzle to bring out the right answer.

The English department brought out words of skill to dust our cobwebbed mind to surface action,the other departments had equally sharp skilled work i am sure, but i ran away as i had a prior appointment , missing all the more lovely exhibits of teaching and the taught, to make the parents proud and the teachers feel what they do when the kids do well to their satisfaction.

Cheers to the teachers for surfacing the skill of kids to explain what they know. communicating what u know is more important, than just knowing.

Bugsy Malone (1976) [* * * *]

This is a gangster movie - but all the gangsters are children. It was quite a lot of fun to watch, though I must admit, like most mafia movies, I hardly understood what it was about. (It took me 3 viewings and reading the book to 'get' Godfather. And I still can't explain what its about if asked. This would probably need the same. Some worlds are too male to comprehend, gang violence on the streets would be one of them.:)

Anyway, great music and a startling parody, since these kids do mobs and mafia so well, it makes adults at the same game look retarded.:)

A Tweet for a date on the wings

Sitting high on the cable between two small pylons was this birdie i will call as Robin.
His calls could be heard within my home, i wanted to see the one who was so shrill and yet not hurting to the ears, but a call to my heart.

I found him searching this way and that seeking sharply among the bushes , the calls continuous as if to say it is getting bright and where are u ?

I could literally decipher his calls as ,"come let me show u the sun rise from that height, the tasty organic corn i have found at that distant farm, the thorny hide out from that scoundrel hawk and more."

His search was so sincere that he missed not an inch on the ground, around the plants and across the sky.

He was very sure he had seen his mate to be, at this spot earlier, that he wanted to make it sure he found her here.before she was wooed by another charmer like himself and equally sonorous.

For one last time he made his call for a date on the wings, before he flew away to look for her at another green spot of beauty, sure he would find her for his warm heart of sharing.

Grey Misty Morning

With the coming of December it was another morning of chillness, but one could not believe the misty nature,many of us would have gone back to see if we have awoken from our own bed in our native land, or up in a hill station.

We quickly went up to the terrace to have a look at the houses and distant hills around our place.
Visibility was up to 50 meters or a bit more,the hills and beauty of the beyond was all grey.

I quickly got my bathing gear and was off to the mountain spring for the bath, the journey of a few kms was lovely and the mist was thicker and one could feel the wetness in the air.

The water was warm from the spring well and the bathers were few, except for the ayyapa devotees.

The laundry and bath was done with chillness and warmth.

I returned home and with in an hour or so and the arrival of the morning sun with lateness the mist cleared and all things were back to work with ease, a remembrance that the morning was grey and misty and beautiful.

Breach of Trust

Every one has a secret, a sweet heart in the caves or a sour head on the mountain top, a nincompoop ally who has a cherry nose of a Saggittarian clown, but who is made to think he looks cute with it.

In this diplomatic world of politics such things are kept close to the heart, and that is what makes an ally, but such things when brought to the open can make a friendship bond bitter.

Diplomatic messages when brought to the open is blackmail to a degree and there is a gap of leak to the outside world, when such a condition exists, it needs to be blocked for the welfare of relationships and trade agreements.

The recent wikileaks messages are a shame to the world of politics as things are washed in the open, of course we all have our dirt, but exposing each other only makes things garbage.

America is being targeted by its own allies, it need to find out who is leaking and put a halt, as only an ally can get into such details and know the ins and out, and the timing is to side track issues of the moment.

Find and be safe AMERICA for your own good and for the welfare of the rest of the world, who look to you as the Land of plenty and Home of the brave.