The Dumb and the Different

***This is an “anger post”, so please be careful while reading this. These types of posts are initiated as a result of watching movies with very high expectations and not getting the needed results. Such posts are rare, but right out the heart without second thoughts, and not suitable for people with the tolerance level of a brainless/braindead zombie always hoping to eat the brains of humans. If you are not such a zombie, please proceed and read. Otherwise, close this tab right now.

Vampire Owl: Is this post brought out of blessings from Werewolf Anger instead of Uncle Dracula?

Vampire Bat: Yes, after watching this movie, Uncle Dracula had to be admitted in the Northern Gothic Infirmary.

Vampire Owl: Oh! I didn’t know that. In that case, please continue! I shall now go and visit him.

I have watched many terrible movies in my life. Just a few days ago, I came across the movie Tamasha on the first day of its release, the first day itself. Even though I liked the idea to be conveyed in the movie, I couldn’t manage to like the movie even a bit just like the others in the theatre, out of which only about ten people could stay until the end of the flick. The movie’s idea, if presented well, could have made it one of the best Bollywood movies of the year, but unfortunately, that was not the case. What I am going to tell you will be easier for you to understand if you watches Malayalam movies. Otherwise, you can either try harder or attempt not to read this.

Another thing about which I wish to be perfectly clear about is that I am not going to accept the comments of the fan-boys and fan-girls here, and I will just talk about what I thought could have been better about this movie and why it needed to do different for me; not for you. I am sure that certain addicted Bollywood fans can make themselves like this one better, and same is the case of the fans of the leading actors. But from a neutral point of you, I will provide my opinion here. If you don’t like it, don’t be a dumb fan and start abuse – choose to be rational. I have waited for the weekend to end before writing this one because I wanted most of you to watch this movie and come to a conclusion. Here are the reasons.

1. Why always the same story?: Well, the first thing I expected here is a complete change of the story, but it wasn’t there. I don’t understand why Bollywood needs to keep bringing the romantic angle into everything. This is once again the guy and girl meeting, singing songs, having dumb fun, leaving to meet again as they wonder what they had/have/will have is love or something else. Romance is not inspiration; love stories are not motivational because the point of life is not new generation infatuation which is shows in this movie – it is good people around us who inspires us. This story is just a repetition and for some reason, it keeps coming at us again and again. Is it at least interesting? No.

Meanwhile, this movie has two leading star performers and there is no romance.

2. Not able to connect with the characters: The hero of this movie is like Nivin Pauly of Oru Vadakkan Selfie, the only difference is that the person here tries to study and finish his course while Umesh played by Nivin decides not to study the course which he didn’t liked and failed in it. But he was a realistic character and we could relate to so many things that he was shown doing. But the hero Ved played by Ranbir Kapoor is not a realistic character at all. The way of showing his whole life as a mechanical thing further reiterates the fact it is not real, but created – the situations are also unreal, made for the person and not for the story which fails.

3. Not at all believable or likable: Both main characters in the movie are not likable. Their attitude towards a man in France for not knowing English, lets us know that everyone should learn English or get lost; where is the chance to be different there? Then, the use of the ridiculous jokes spoil most of the time in France, and in the end, the meet up in Japan for no reason. The protagonist even refuses to keep the lift’s door open for an elder lady and acts like a psycho in front of his boss for no reason; he wants people not to ask “How are you?” because he doesn’t like it – so much for freedom. There is no reason for people to connect with this movie – yes, we are all different, but thankfully, there is nobody like these people here, and I will thank God about the world around me.

4. There are so many better inspirational movies: We had the highly inspirational Queen last year, and then there was How Old Are You? in Malayalam and 36 Vayadhinile as its version in Tamil. This year had three movies Mili, Rani Padmini and Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam as the highly motivational flicks which worked with perfect does of inspiration. The good thing about these movies is that none of these have romance, and even with the comedy and the light-hearted feeling, these are serious about what they deal with, and they are about the lives of the common man, not someone who keeps traveling all around the world like the one percent because movie’s producer has extra money.

Like in Queen, two leading ladies can make it work; skip romance and foreign countries.

5. The unexpected burial of the idea: The death and burial of this idea to be ourselves and do what we love in favour of melodrama, makes sure that it never really touches the heart. I usually get attracted to these types of movies with messages, but this one shows us no middle path, and provides us with the opportunity to be a robot or someone who is fair to one’s family – can’t one be both? In this year’s three Malayalam movies, there were the characters Mili, Rani, Padmini and Sudheendran who could be both! A good number of real inspirational movies have given me the idea that if I respect and accept others along with being different, I won’t be a robot. I apologize for being too traditional for your taste, but that is what I am, and I shall not walk away from my values.

***The images used in this blog post are from the official Facebook Pages of these movies. I love movies with inspirational messages, others which make us think and those which provide some fun, but not those movies which fail in doing all of these. I suggest that you don’t advice me on this matter because I am very much angry and frustrated about spending a hundred rupees on this movie. This film has left me in depression. Along with that, for us who have watched Anarkali, Ennu Ninte Moideen and Premam, there is that fake romantic angle.

TeNy

Queen of the Arabian Sea

Kochi, or Cochin, known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, is the city which has driven me forward throughout my life. Yes, we use both names for the city; Cochin and Kochi are used like we wish to! I have always lived less than fifty kilometres from the city, except when I had those trips which lasted not more than one or two months. I believe that this will also be the city which will drive me towards my desires and destinations in life. My mother’s place is located on the other side of the city and so I have traveled through Kochi a lot during my childhood, and later, the malls and multiplexes increased the number of city visits.

The fishing boats with the old bridge of Cochin on the background.

We used to love going on a drive through the city later in the night, and have food at some special places there. The traffic would be so less at that time. We enjoyed spending our time at the beaches as well as the Marine Drive during our early college life. During those times, there were multiplexes were only on waiting list as the malls were absent, and we frequented the local theatres and had fun there. We also had those historical tourist destinations of Fort Cochin making the place the one choice of antiquity – it was one design of Cochin for us, and now there is more of that design. We always considered Cochin as a city #madeofgreat.

Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica at Fort Cochin is an architectural beauty of great historical, religious and spiritual significance. You can also see the Jewish Synagogue which is considered as the oldest of its kind at this part of the world. The Mattancherry Palace will let you through another journey through the history of Kerala, surrounded by temples. There is also a beautiful Jain Temple. There is also the Dutch Cemetery. Saint Francis Church, the oldest European Church in India is also located at Fort Cochin. The Koonankurishu Church where the famous Coonan Cross Oath against the Portuguese domination took place among the native Christians of Kerala is located around Mattanchery area. You should also add Kumbalangy model tourism village to your journey as you have peace within the extended city!

Santa Cruz Basilica – a beautiful structure that you wouldn’t want to miss.

Meanwhile, the Kochi International Marina is the only marina in India. Pallipuram Fort built by the Portuguese is the oldest existing European fort in India; it was last owned by the Kingdom of Travancore. There is also the largest archaeological museum in Kerala, the Tripunithura Hill Palace. So many beaches are around from the Fort Cochin beach to the Puthuvype, Cherai and Munambam beaches. You see that there is history and there is the beauty of nature along with the newly arrived modernity – it is the right mixture in the design which you won’t fail to notice. Another nice mixture happens with the religious population which is like not many other cities can boast about.

Kochi has also been a city which has connected us friends coming from different suburbs, towns and villages around the place. Even now, it is where a lot of old friends arrive and we meet up there; the change in the design is with the malls though, with six malls around, and five of them having the multiplex option, Lulu being the largest mall in India. Connecting with the old friends over some food and movie has only managed to get things better. Kochi is well-connected to the towns around, and the bus option is easy, with the Kochi Metro Rail coming up, about to make things even more amazing.

The Chinese fishing nets – always part of Cochin and all its islands.

Along with having connectivity through rail, air, water and the National Highway, Kochi’s location right at the centre of Kerala makes it easier for people from all around. The significance of Kochi has only been increasing at a steady rate throughout the the last few years. The Cochin International Airport is the largest and the busiest airport in Kerala it is also the fourth busiest airport in India according to the international passenger traffic recorded. It is also world’s first completely solar energy powered airport. Meanwhile, Cochin Port, has the largest container trans-shipment facility in India.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the home of Kerala Blasters and former home of Kochi Tuskers Kerala is one amazing place to spend some great time during a football match; you will see the love for football like nowhere else. There is one thing about which you can be more certain than many other things, and it is about the beauty of the backwaters of Kochi – it will be an instant hit going right into the soul, even more than those lovely beaches. Kochi also has some amazing food with a lot of variety, and it is up-to you to decide what drives you to connect with the grand design of Kochi. Maybe it can be the Kochi-Muziris Biennale with all the brilliant art on display?

A quote which I found interesting during the Kochi Biennale visit 🙂

What about your favourite city? Is it also made of great things, driving you through its design and having a certain connection to your soul? http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me on my Sony Cybershot DSC-W310 camera.

TeNy

Malayalam Cinema: Beginning

November 28th brings a birthday, and it is not just another birthday, but the date of birth of the man who is considered as the father of Malayalam Cinema, JC Daniel. He is maker of the first Malayalam film (even though it was a silent film like the rest of the flicks of that time), Vigathakumaran; meaning “the lost child” in the year 1928, it is the first Malayalam movie, and also the first movie to be made at this part of India. The Travancore National Pictures established by him at Trivandrum was also the first film studio in Kerala.

Vigathakumaran was followed by Marthanda Varma based on the 1891 Malayalam novel by C. V. Raman Pillai of the same name, but that came five years later. JC Daniel had to go through many hardships to bring the movie to the screen and also after the release, and so it was not really a path which the later movie makers were confident in following, even though his legacy has been accepted now, and Kerala Government introduced the Kerala State Film Award for Lifetime Achievement in his name as part of the Kerala State Film Awards from the year 1992.

Celluloid is the bipoic on which most of our information about the man is based.

All of these came very late, and the path after the release of movie was never smooth for the man, even though the film was one of its kind, dealing with a social issue rather than traveling the usual style of the other films of the time. With problems over a lower caste woman PK Rosy playing the heroine character far above her, the conservative sections of the society created big problems over the movie. The first actress of Malayalam Cinema didn’t have much to remember during her time.

As the movie couldn’t go on to become a commercial success at that time, the studio at Trivandrum had to be closed down and Daniel had to sell his belongings and leave, to live as dentist and go deeper into poverty in later stages. It wasn’t a fitting journey for the man who brought the cinema to Kerala. As the government earlier refused to give him the recognition as he was born and died in Tamil Nadu, it was the journalist Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan who worked for bringing the attention to the man behind the first Malayalam movie. It was late, but thanks to him, the deserved recognition arrived.

Most of the Keralites will know him now, thanks to the movie Celluloid from Kamal, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran in the role of JC Daniel and doing the same to perfection providing him the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor and the movie with the Best Film Award. The movie has Mamta Mohandas doing the role of his wife Janet, the newcomer Chandni in the role of Rosy and Sreenivasan performing the character of Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan. It is a movie which I recommend the most among the films of the last few years.

The awards to this biopic is part of the divine justice which is served to the man.

The movie was based on Life of J. C. Daniel, a biography of the man which was written by Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan and also Nashta Naayika by Vinu Abraham. Receiving also the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam, the movie made its point so well that by the end of the movie, people knew the man who was behind the first Malayalam movie, and this movie was a tribute to the man who did something which none other could dare to do at that time, as it was the big risk.

Some movies make the big impact and some don’t. The one special thing about Celluloid is that it released at a time when one just couldn’t be sure about its success. A lot of the viewers did have the doubt because the period drama wasn’t a preferred genre at that time, especially when it was not about kings and warriors. The situation is safer these days, with Iyobinte Pusthakam becoming a hit and Ennu Ninte Moideen becoming a success despite its slow pace. But the latter movie was a very safe bet as it released these days, and when considering the same, Celluloid is a true and righteous tribute to JC Daniel with its success well earned during difficult times.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Page of the movie, Celluloid.

TeNy

Day of the Fire-starter

The title refers to Sunday, and it has been the special day, the one holiday at the end of the week which everyone has been waiting for. Throughout our lives, we have prayed for Sunday to come earlier, especially during the school and college days – Saturdays were mostly holidays, but the threat of the arrival of special classes was eternally present. So, Sunday was the one safe day, and it was the day on which the plans could be made without thinking too much about what else could happen on the day. A nice Sunday treat makes a better Monday!

Plan A: The movie :: Watching a movie is always the best choice. Even as I watch one movie on Friday or the first day of its release itself, there are always more movies around here to give a try. Sunday movie watching program means that there will be also another person to accompany you. Well, it is needed for me because not everyone is that jobless as I am. I try to leave the more family-oriented movie for the Sunday if I go with parents or relatives; otherwise I leave the more fun movie for later, watching the lesser known movie on the first of day of release.

Plan B: The mall :: The malls came here quite late, but the biggest mall in India did come to Kochi in the form of Lulu Mall. With a total of six malls in the city area itself, we are provided with the option to spend the Sundays there in peace. Five out of the six malls actually have the movie option with the multiplexes too. So, it is only fair to spend some time there and the movie option can also add to it. The option of watching three or four movies on one day itself is also there in these malls considering the number of screens available.

A shot on one of the early days of Lulu Mall; isn’t this a nice weekend choice?

Plan C: The beach :: Kochi has no shortage of beaches, as the new tourism initiatives have made it better. A day at the beach will be another nice option, even though the rush will be higher at those more popular beaches like Fort Cochin and Cherai, but then we have those smaller and lesser known beaches which can give us the peaceful experience. I used to try this beach option very often when the friends were around the city, but not that much anymore with almost all of them working far away.

Plan D: The nature :: The closest destinations in the heart of nature includes Paniyeli Poru, Bhoothathankettu, Ezhattumugham, Thommankuthu and many others. As Kerala is blessed with such natural beauty, there is no need to travel much, with beautiful locations exist near and around the river Periyar, the state’s longest river. We friends used to go to some of these places on every Sunday – those were some wonderful days, which can be brought back at some point of time, I hope.

We go through places like this, and we wonder why not choose nature right away?

Plan E: The relations :: There are the relatives who join us on a nice Sunday, but that situation has been brought down a lot to very less impact these days in our case. Not many relatives remain around here, and I am sure that I can find more relatives at Bangalore than in our district. But it wasn’t the case until a few years ago. The relatives were here and we could go to places with them. Nowadays, we still go to their houses at times, only two find the parents there who await the arrival of their children some day!

Plan Z: Home sweet home :: We call it Plan Z because it is the last plan. But it has been a usual plan for me during the last few months. There are not many friends left to go out with, and most of the time, the number remains a zero. So, the “home sweet home” option usually becomes the right choice. It is still a nice option to spend some time home with parents and the pet. After all, there is no other place like home, and there will be some nice movies on the television which can be watched together.

The images used in this blog post were taken by me on my Sony Cybershot DSC-W310.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

TeNy

Bat and the Metropolis

As a child, I was less of an admirer of Batman than a number of other superheroes. But there was still something that I have always loved about the story. It was all about the villains then; none of the heroes had the villains like Batman could face. They were special and Batman was not. I did like the movies on Batman at that time too, but that was about villains too. The Nolan trilogy of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises made that clear, many years later.

So when I read that there was a television series about the origins of the wonderful villains as well as the city itself, I was certain that I wanted to watch it – The Penguin, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, The Scarecrow, The Riddler, The Joker, Hugo Strange, Two-Face, and Mr. Freeze. The story here revolves around James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) of the Gotham City Police Department during his earlier days of his service. Paired with elder and the more experienced detective Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), he will have a lot to do.

So, the Gotham City is the kind of world which has quite a lot of crime, as you would expect. The corruption is everywhere, and a long time before Batman, there were the two officers doing their duty, surrounded by crime lords and their henchmen who control so much. It is not easy to handle crime and corruption without going through them, as the crime lords have their people in the government as well as the police department. With morals and the hope to change the city for the good, James Gordon will do what he can.

Gotham television series actually starts very slowly, and it took some time for me to get into the story, characters and the environment, it was with the sixth episode that things got a lot more interesting. It is mostly due to the return of Oswald Cobblepot known better as The Penguin, the future villain of Batman who has the most interesting past. Robin Lord Taylor as the intelligent thug who makes it big despite his troubles, has some moments which are just top-class.

After The Penguin and his master manipulations, there is Camren Bicondova as the young Selina Kyle, long before the Catwoman had a chance to be the big cat. I knew that I had seen her before, and that was in the 2014 movie Girl House, with that first sequence. The Cat is the next most interesting character in this series, and this girl has so much talent; The Catwoman is a character who has always deserved an origin story like this, close to the oiriginal Batman story and not alone.

Meanwhile, Benjamin McKenzie and Donal Logue manage to do some great job at the same time as the police officers doing their work, against all odds as you can guess. The prettiest face should be Morena Baccarin as Leslie Thompkins, the love interest of James Gordon after Erin Richards as Barbara Kean had brought the charm earlier. But everything in the city is connected and revolves around the murder of the parents of Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz). It is all about the name “Wayne” in the end.

I have only watched the first season, and it was nice to watch such a prequel to Batman and his villains. I believe that it can only be better with our villains transforming into what they are to be later. Even though The Penguin and Catwoman are the ones who were in focus here, The Riddler was very close to being there as the bad guy. We also know that Poison Ivy, Scarecrow and Two-Face are already there in the present form before the transformation. What comes with them is the past of Batman as the little Bruce Wayne.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Page of Gotham television series.

TeNy

Celebrities and their Fans

I was watching an episode of Vellanakalude Naadu (The Land of White Elephants) on Asianet channel on last Sunday, and I found the idea talked about to be a very interesting one and more valid than anything else for the present time. The satirical tv series has been doing a good job every weekend, but this one can be considered the one episode more close to life than any other. They have come up with an idenity separate from the big satire program Marimayam on Mazhavil Manorama and it feels good.

The episode dealt with the blind fans and their great role-model celebrities. It showed us how ridiculous the celebrity worship and the fan clubs happen to be. There is absolutely no point in these as the fans are never really the admirers as they should be. There are only two kinds of fans who are usually seen during a movie release; one is the type which got no ability to think for themselves and blindly worship a person for some strange reason, and another is the kind of fan who stick to this for material benefits.

Yes, there are fans who are not part of these two groups, but they are rare and as they don’t hate and abuse others, their voices are less heard. The other groups of fans whose lives are based on hate will make them heard because they are intolerant. What they do in the name of their favourite celebrities happen to be the curse of the movie industry. I have always believed that a movie should be watched and appreciated without caring about who acted in the flick.

We know the most significant work which these fans do. They go around telling everyone and posting on the Facebook media that a terrible, average or above average movie of their favourite actor or actress is awesome. They abuse people who say that the movie is not that good. They also degrade the movies of other celebrities telling everyone that they are pathetic. Some do it because they are blind followers and others for some material benefits. But both types of fans are such pain on the social media.

What they do in the theatres happen to be even more ridiculous. They make sounds in the darkness and clap and scream so much for their favourite actors that listening to the dialogues is impossible. The howling which they do for the movies of other actors make sure that listening to dialogues is hard otherwise too. They try their best to make the theatre experience hell of the common man and make it even worse for the family audience. According to them, the world belongs to them only.

The fans also do pour milk over the giant flex hoarding of their favourite actors. Well, wastage of food when children are in need of nutrition comes easy, doesn’t it? Earlier, there was an incident in which a fan climbed over a flex hoarding of their favourite actor at Thiruvananthapuram and fell down while trying to give the huge thing a shower in milk. What did he earn other than the loss of his own life? It is a strange thing about life, that you make the people who love cry for you in the name of a person who doesn’t know or care.

The celebrities need their fans to make them popular and the fans need money while some fans are just dumb. The celebrities will surely make advantage of this, creating fake campaigns about their greatness, simplicity, skills, social work and everything else. If you see a lot of such posts from fans about “simplicity”, “social work” and the rest of the qualities, there is a big chance that these situations are created and paid for. It is not the media and fans that need the celebrities, but it is the other way around; otherwise, we would have seen the celebrities talking against the fan clubs – do we see such a thing? Not at all. Vellanakalude Naadu on Sunday showed how disgusting this hero worship is, in a clear manner.

***The image used in this blog post is a screenshot of the first screen of a video of the television series shared by Asianet.

TeNy

Hate Brings No Good

Vampire Owl: Are you sure that we are supposed to be here? This is the world of the dead and we are kind of immortal. By arriving here, we become the immortal dead which is kind of paradox.

Vampire Bat: You are now an emissary to the world of the dead. We are the only connection between the dead and the undead, which in turn connects the living and the dead. So, lets not think about unnecessary things and wait for the Representative and the Left Hand of Lady Death to arrive.

Vampire Owl: I don’t want to, but that creature is looking at us. It feels strange. What is that thing? I have never known that one.

Vampire Bat: Maybe we should go and ask.

Vampire Owl: Are you sure? It looks angry and frustrated.

Vampire Bat: It looks sad and depressed. We are diplomatic representatives, and we gave immunity against all attacks from the dead. Don’t worry.

The Creature: One plus one plus one and add another one to the total, makes it a hundred; I killed a hundred and I don’t know why even now.

Vampire Owl: I think that this one failed in Mathematics. It is a subject that makes many people mad. A dangerous thing indeed.

Vampire Bat: What is your name, creature?

The Creature: I have had many other names, but for now, please call me The Disfigured. I am not of this world, but I decided to belong here as I was dumb.

Vampire Owl: So, you have nobody to blame. It is really a sad thing. You should make more friends.

The Disfigured: I used to have many, and one day, I lost them all. I made the decision to choose the wrong ones, and that made me miss them all.

Vampire Bat: Why do you talk in riddles, The Disfigured? And why do you call yourself by that name?

The Disfigured: It is part of my penance. I disfigured myself and made me what I am now. The world of the dead has its own special punishments, and among them, I was given the choice; I decided to choose the one which I inflicted upon myself.

Vampire Owl: You are too weird even for the vampire standards. Are you really dead? And if yes, what has brought you to this situation?

The Disfigured: I lived at a place where people of all religions were leading happy lives, respecting each other for their beliefs. I had friends from all religions and communities. I was a religious person, but never felt anything bad about the other religions. I studied science and scored well in the subjects, but kept religion and God close to my heart. But one day, that man came to our land, and he changed things a lot. Even after he left, some people followed his path and made things worse.

Vampire Owl: The great bringer of death?

The Disfigured: Something like that, yes. He came to our worship place and told us how the people from other religions will one day come and murder us. He told us that our religion was perfect and the other religions were worshiping the devil, and their cults needed to be destroyed. He brought a long list which he carried inside his huge bag. It was so long and as he told us the problems of other religions and made us believe that our religion was never wrong and will always be right till the end of the world. He gave us the idea that only our religion can save the world with us as the selected people, and that is the will of the God, the right God, which is our God.
Vampire Bat: That is quite natural for some people; but an educated person like you fell for that speech? Didn’t you study a lot of science?

The Disfigured: I learnt things by heart for the exams. That was all which was needed. I was never really taught values with studies. I was told to study everything by heart, get good score, find a job and bring money home. But then, this idea sounded better. I could stop studying and get my reward in another way. I could be a hero of my religion and my people who would keep screaming my name.

Vampire Bat: But what about the people from other religions with whom you were very close? Were they not your people too?

The Disfigured: I forgot them at that time. They were my friends and brothers by love, but I decided to go through them too. I was taught the art and science of murder in the name of God. I had decided that those who said something unpleasant about my God and also everyone else from that religion should die; if the ones from other religions also died, it came as a bonus because only we worshiped the real God.

Vampire Owl: So you killed your own friends and neighbours in the end?

The Disfigured: Yes, I pulled the trigger. I saw the river of blood, fire and the ashes as I felt myself becoming the abomination in their eyes during the few last moments of devastation. During those moments between life and death, I saw and heard the screams of the mothers, the cries of the helpless orphaned children, and the souls of the little children leaving that world for the other. I saw my former best friend, and he pointed at me and I knew he was asking me why. I was here, and I found nothing here; not the glory of a martyr or the reward for being a murderer for God. I understood that I made myself unworthy of even going near that God whom I once worshipped.

Vampire Bat: I don’t understand why you would think that God would want you to kill his own creations? It is a terrible misunderstanding. You felt that murder can bring you heaven and not good selfless deeds? Even zombies know better.

Vampire Owl: And now what has happened to you?

The Disfigured: I still awaited my chance to be lifted to firmament, but nothing like that happened. I was left here surrounding by the inferno and I could see the people I killed right on the golden clouds high above me, with wings made of star-dust. I tried to jump into the fire, but it brought me back each and every time, more and more burnt.

Vampire Owl: I am not surprised at all.

The Disfigured: One day a woman appeared before me, pale and wearing dark clothes, with a huge black cat and a big dog which burned bright on her side. She was wearing a crown made of parts of a giant skull and bones decorated it. She told me that I had a choice, to enter the inferno of eternal torment to be punished by the demons of the other world or to stay here, in the world of the dead as a symbol of what happens to those who hate their fellow beings, and punish myself as instructed. I decided to choose the latter, as I stand here, burning and impaling myself, being the symbol of what reward hate brings. May be doing these myself as penance can give me a second chance. I haven’t lost hope yet.

Messenger of Death: Greetings, emissaries from the Vampire World. Lady Death’s representative will see you now.

The Disfigured: Let me get back to my schedule then. I have to jump into some boiling oil now. You should go and meet them, but please be careful about that dog.

Vampire Bat and Vampire Owl continued their journey into the interior circles of the world of the dead with the Messenger of Death. They wondered what it would take to make the humans stop hating each other. There will be religion, caste, race and community now, and during other times, there will be some other reasons. They felt very much relieved that they were not among the humans. They reached the Dark Gate of the Palace of Death, and as they looked on, the gate opened by itself.

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TeNy

Where Everything Ends

The year end is here, and so is the ATP World Tour Finals. The best men of tennis from the year are back to compete for the one final prize, the trophy which will make this year and awesome one. With Roger Federer having won the title six times and Novak Djokovic four times, there is nobody else in the top ten who has won this one – well, there is nobody even in the top 200. So with eight top players ready, there were six trying to get their hands on the big prize for the first time.

The one person who really should win this title though, is Rafael Nadal. He came second twice here, and deserves to win this title to make his achievements even better. But he couldn’t go past the World Number in the knock-out stage, as Djokovic has been far ahead of the rest of the ATP throughout the year, except for Federer who could manage something against the Serbian juggernaut. Nadal could still top the group which didn’t have Federer and Djokovic who were to fight against each other early to a Swiss win.

Nadal still went past Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka without much trouble. Surprisingly, it was Wawrnika who joined Nadal in the other match of the semi-finals and not Murray. He came second by beating the last of the Big Four and David Ferrer who became the only man who could bring the fight to Nadal in that group; he will always be the greatest fighter of all time in men’s tennis. I have often wondered if he is the best player of this century never to have won a Grand Slam.

Meanwhile, in the other group, Tomáš Berdych and Kei Nishikori couldn’t go past the two men who won twenty seven Grand Slam titles and one hundred and fourty six singles titles between then; Djokovic lost only to Federer who made it perfect with cent percent wins, and the rest could only watch. With this tournament, Federer also has the most number of ATP World Tour Finals appearances, and he has played fourteen of these tournaments continuously until this one.

With Djokovic having an easy victory against Nadal who came nowhere close, Federer made it past Wawrinka in straight sets making the final once again a clash of the titans. Djokovic is the tree-time defending champion with this title, and last year had Federer not playing in the final due to health issues and Djokovic winning by a walkover. This final was to be a repeat of the last year’s ATP World Tour Finals match which never really happened, and so the fans were to be a lot excited.

When they went into the finals, the rivalry between the two players had Federer leading by 22–21 head to head; the Swiss Master being the only person in the big four and the current top players to have a positive head to head record against the World Number One even as it is such a small lead. Djokovic actually had a great year, and even though he was defeated by Federer in the group stages, he was the favourite considering how well and consistently he had played throughout the year.

Federer couldn’t win his last three Grand Slam finals against Djokovic. This one was opportunity for Djokovic to erase the negative head to head record with Federer too, and he did exactly that. He started the favourite in this tournament and he ends it as the winner. This ends an almost perfect year for him, with only the French Open somehow keeping away from him – that was rather a surprise. With three Grand Slam wins, a Slam final and a victory in the year end tournament, Djokovic seems to be ready to dominate men’s tennis for some more time.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Pages of the two players.

TeNy

On One Old Friend

We come across so many people throughout our lives, and most of them vanish from our memories leaving no trace. A few others come, stay and then go. Then there are others whom we want to stay, but they are never even close to being there. While, it is easy to forget people, there are a few who keep coming to the mind. There was one such friend whom I met again after sixteen years, but here, I am going to talk about someone whom I knew until eight years ago who is #madeofgreat.

I have had a number of such friends whom I met after so many years, but this one is special even though I haven’t met him after he moved from his home and ceased being my neighbour. It has been a long time, but he is going to be chosen here because he is not just #madeofgreat as I would write about it, as he has already proven it. He proved it once, twice and then again for the third time this year. So, no talk about #madeofgreat is complete for me without bringing something about him.

He was my senior by a few years, and he studied the same course which I started, but never finished. I had to skip my course and choose another one while he completed his own. We used to play a number of computer games together, and he was always interested in finding new ways to solve the puzzles in the games – Prince of Persia and Need For Speed were the games of that time, but the former was the one which I have always seen him playing. He could always find a way through the puzzles then.

It was when I returned from the college in front of his house that I found him, and I was introduced into the game, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Not only was he good at finding a way, he was always looking to do something different. He had the ideas and he was always there to talk to others about doing things differently and that it was the right way. Most of us never really listened that much, but I knew that there was something in what he said. Even then, I was afraid to be branded different at that time.

One day, when I looked at his place, I found out that he had moved from there. I hadn’t seen him for a few days, and I realized that he had shifted home all of a sudden. Nobody really knew that he had shifted, and none of our mutual friends who were close to me had any idea. But years later, with a movie, I saw his name attached as the director. He had a name which was to be easily noticed, and his computer record was actually with me – so I knew that it was him and nobody else.

I went for the movie with one of our mutual friends who also hadn’t met the person for a very long time. We were actually surprised that he had such skills that we rarely noticed. The movie was a very nice debut for him as a director and it went on to become a hit, and that was only the beginning of his career which was only going to be better. I don’t know many other people who followed their passion and made it so big – he is indeed the person who is suitable for the tag #madeofgreat. I am sure that not a lot of people would have guessed and expected this, but he made his passion work so well.

Now, he is a well-known film director in the Malayalam movie industry, and has big hits under his name. I shall not name him though, as that would make people feel that I am inclined towards giving good opinions about his movies; but that is a wrong idea. I have never rated his movies that high or with prejudice – I have only given them as much as the experience has pushed me to provide and not based on who directed or acted in then. Well, I don’t even know if he will recognize me as of now, after so many years.

And here is a question: “What do you think of Tata Motors association with Lionel Messi?”

For more details about #madeofgreat, visit http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/

TeNy

Three Simple Words

Vampire Bat: Okay, the first person to start this round is the Vampire Owl from my left side.

Vampire Owl: Oh! You mean to say that I have to say three of my favourite words right now.

Vampire Bat: Yes, it is how this whole thing works. This is also a game which we can play once in every week.

Vampire Owl: But I have no idea where to start. I have never been good with this type of ideas. I don’t play such games either.

Vampire Hamster: Let me say then, sir. I am ready to come up with mine. You will surely like them. There are vampires, zombies and undead as the three…..

Vampire Bat: No! Your turn will come. Don’t talk now. I hate it when vampire apprentices try to intervene early.

Vampire Crocodile: I told you that this game is turn-based. Like the games Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic and Disciples: Sacred Lands. You are just not playing enough computer games.

Vampire Owl: Do you know how difficult this is for me. I could use a clue.

Vampire Bat: Okay, I will provide you with one myself. You can add this as the first letter on your list. Tea.

Vampire Owl: What? Tea? Why would that be so?

Vampire Bat: Well, tea has been part of our lives for quite a long time. You should have read all my tales related to tea. We have always had some good time with tea, and it is the one true elixir of life. It has defined my childhood with its taste, and I have had more tea than ice cream even as a kid. Just don’t tell Uncle Dracula because he will only talk about blood, but this is the truth.

Vampire Owl: That was some nice description. Tea should keep its greatness as the one grand drink. Now, I will require two more words. Here is my first word and the second of the series. Death.

Vampire Bat: Death, yes related to Lady Death, isn’t it? The one who has refused to see you for so long? I didn’t think that you would like to choose this one; otherwise I would have given a better clue earlier.

Vampire Owl: No, not directly. Yes, the Lady Death influence cannot be denied because she is always present everywhere. Even when she is not known to be with me, she is there; she is with us all. She knows us all and she can easily predict where most of our actions are leading us. Death does have an existence also without its personification.

Vampire Bat: You mean, as the great leveler, the one who brings equality to a world where everyone considers the other as inferior. There are not many problems that death cannot solve. What lies under the tombs shall always be the same.

Vampire Owl: Yes, and the talk about tombs bring me to the third word – Graveyard which is an extension of death. That makes it three; tea, death and graveyard. This should finish my role in this game.

Vampire Bat: Yes, graveyard has had a special place for us throughout the history. I don’t see why can’t it become a favourite word. It has always been the place where things became better and there, all sufferings end. There is no better location which has given quality resting time.

Vampire Owl: It has also played a big role in the battles which were fought there, most of them being won by our kind. It has the record of being a lucky place for us, and it is approved by my zombie minions.

Vampire Bat: The zombies will surely find it the best word ever. But it is still not as powerful as death with all its glory. Graveyard needs death; more and more of it. May be the angel of death will bring more.

Vampire Owl: In the end, it all comes to death, the end of the story of lives, and it is undoubtedly the best word ever.

Vampire Bat: But for a lot of us, life is death and vice versa. Most of us never really live and we all die in the end. There are not many things which can equal living a dead man’s life with its melancholy.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

***The two images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Page of Hotel Transylvania.

TeNy

A Fort of Monsters

A long time ago, there lived a kid who believed in monsters. He believed in monsters long before he had detailed information about them. He knew that they were real. He used to go under the bed and search for them so that there would be someone for him to play with. But he never really found the monster. They were real, but still they were not there. He waited for them to arrive, but they never came. Still, he knew that they had to come, and that much he had hoped.

The monsters exist, just like the certainty of the beauty of nature.

There was such a destination for the myths. I still believe in monsters, and this place called Bhoothathankettu or the Fort of Monsters had a good role to play during my early monster belief season. The advantage of this Malayalam word is that it can be used in more than one way; we can also call them demons. I am sure that they won’t mind whatever we call them because horror is beyond names. Bhoothathankettu has a dam and is a popular tourist destination which was lesser visited at those times.

Bhoothathankettu has been the place to visit again and again – worth it.

But it existed when I was a kid and it was only eleven kilometres from my Kothamangalam where my ancestral home is situated. So, it was always going to be a popular destination for me. It was different at that time, with less tourists, and naming it a tourist destination wasn’t going to be accurate during those days. The places for tourists were at other places, and this was just a dam and a park. But now, things have changed and a lot more facilities became available around the dam.

This might be the first dam which I ever saw in my life, but can’t be so sure.

Located about fourty seven kilometres from the nearest railway station at Aluva and around fourty two kilometres from the Cochin International Airport, you can pass through the town of Kothamangalam to reach this place. There are tree houses and boating facilities for the tourists, and more have been added in the recent years. It has been some time since we last visited the place, and an update was to happen when I decided to travel less. May be another day with relatives will see me traveling again here, later.

Nature makes the call, but we are rarely ready for the journey to the greens.

From there, you can also travel to the Idamalayar Dam which provides more of the scenic views there. Then you can go for the other option, which is the Thattekad Bird Sanctuary which is also not that far away from there; it is also close enough to Kothamangalam, reached by taking a turn while going to Bhoothathankettu. It was the first bird sanctuary in Kerala, and is named after the famous ornithologist Salim Ali. You can also travel to Kuttampuzha, Urulanthanni and Pooyamkutty if you keep that route.

The tree-house once again – this one never losses the charm, that is for sure.

The distance from the city of Cochin will be around sixty three kilometres. There is quite some distance which can be traveled through the forests, with all the greenery around. There is a park on the side, and the dam itself provides a nice view of the nature which has blessed the surroundings. It will be an ideal tourist spot if you decide to travel to this side – you can find many other places, but this one will have its special charm with the myths, the dam and the improving scope.

You take a walk around here to make it feel better, and nature can heal.

There is something about this place which I have visited so many times, with friends and also with relatives. But time has passed since the last journey and I hope to be back there again. May be that will happen on another day when I will have the desire to travel again. There will be a lot more awaiting me by that time with the popularity of the place increasing. I hope that the kid finds the right monsters there on that special day, because the human monsters have been too evil for his liking.

Can the monsters be around here? This is a nice place for them, isn’t it?

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me on my Sony Cybershot DSC-W310.

TeNy

More Time with Nature

Nature has been my first inspiration to blog. My first blog comes from my thoughts during the times of travel. Now, even this blog stands here many more posts older. On this day, I will add something about another interesting destination close to nature; a place which I have visited multiple times, and one of the closest eco-tourism destinations near my home. If any of you come to my home, I am sure that this will be the first place I will make you visit 😀

You will see this Nandi statue on the way to the destination; one of the largest in India.

The place is Paniyeli Poru, another place which brings us close to nature, away from the troubles of modernity. It has only gained popularity in the last few years, but most of you will be very much familiar about the famous Elephant training center near the destination, Kodanad. It was always a popular destination, going back to my childhood when we went to see the elephants there – well, now Paniyeli Poru joins the package, just about five kilometres from this location.

The Pietà on the way tells you that the path taken is correct and you need to continue.

You can reach the road to Kodanad by taking a right turn at Vallom if you are coming from Perumbavoor side, or the left turn if coming from the Angamaly side. The former is for people coming from the South which includes the city of Cochin and the latter is for those arriving from the Northern side which includes the Cochin International Airport. On the way, you can find a huge Nandi statue on left – a part of Aimury Shri Mahadeva Temple; this might be the largest statue of Nandi as of now. After a few kilometres, on the right, you will find a Pietà, and you know that the path is right.

You travel and travel looking to reach this beautiful place of serenity; keep going.

Along with Kodanad, you can also visit Abhayaranyam Mini Zoo, which has mostly deers – it was still under construction when I last visited. Perumbavoor is the closest town, just above fifteen kilometres from there through the straight route and a lot shorter through shortcuts. about twenty five kilometres from there, Angamaly is the closest railway station while Aluva at thirty one kilometres is the closest big station. It is twenty five kilometres from the Cochin International Airport and fifty five kilometres from the city of Cochin.

There are some swings which are close to nature around here; for the inner child 😀

You can also combine this journey with your trips to the spiritual town of Kalady where Adi Shankara was born, and Malayattoor which is a very popular Christian pilgrim centre due to its relation to Saint Thomas. But once you reach Paniyeli Poru, it is all about you and nature. Actually, there is a KSRTC low-floor non-AC (green) bus which goes from Perumbavoor to Paniyeli Poru. This place which is located on the banks of river Periyar will have some interesting places on the way there where you might want to stop.

This side of Periyar continues to display that awesome beauty; you know the river.

There is a nice walk through the paved path which leads to further inside where there are rocks, water and greenery all around. There is beautiful sights all around, it is only gaining in popularity with more families coming there instead of the adventurous youth who were the only ones who preferred the place earlier. It has a history youth falling prey to the slippery areas around. People are adviced not to get into water during the monsoon season when there is more risk.

You go along such paved paths until you reach the rocks while noticing the river.

Paniyeli Poru is the kind of place where you can spend some time in peace. It might be the best place to find some time with nature when you are coming from Cochin. Your choice of places to combine with this nice package to Paniyeli Poru will depend on your interests. With the new bridge up, you can travel through Kalady and Malayattoor to reach Kodanad when coming from the North, and that will surely make a nice spiritual trip combined with the time nature at Paniyeli Poru. For food nearby, check out Possible Food Programs, even though some details in the post has changed.

The mountains are far away, but you know that there are promises to keep.

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me on my Sony Cybershot DSC-W310.

TeNy

Why Watch Anarkali?

It has only been a few days since I watched Anarkali, the romantic comedy with thriller elements starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Priyal Gor in the leading roles. I wanted to expand my already written review on Anarkali to bring you the reasons to watch Anarkali and to choose it over most of the other movies at the theatres right now. It is the one movie other than Rani Padmini which I feel the need to watch again among the flicks currently running in the theatres. It is also one of my three favourite Malayalam movies of the year.

The first reason why you will feel the need to watch Anarkali is for the visuals. The visual beauty remains the big boost to this movie and it is so throughout the flick. In that way, Anarkali is also an asset to Lakshadweep tourism even with all the islands not covered. There are some very nice shots in this movie which will stay in our minds and ask us to leave on a trip to the islands. Anarkali might be only the second movie to capture the beauty of the islands so well, after Mosayile Kuthira Meenukal.

The romantic side is undoubtedly strong, with the beauty of the islands nicely contributing to increase the level. The songs nicely add to the charm of the movie, and there is a certain amount of cuteness with love and even in the distance, there is hope throughout this movie. The desperation, and the feeling that it is so difficult to have the right thing happen exists here too, just like in the movie London Bridge – the mood is the same, so close to hopelessness, and yet we know that things are possible within this universe.

Anarkali has Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead, and he has his third movie going on to become the big hit, reaching the theatres and staying with Amar Akbar Anthony and Ennu Ninte Moideen. The movie has another fantastic performance from him, giving him another one to make it big this year. He has been right there with the first big hit of the year Picket 43 and even his lesser appreciated Ivide was powered by his own amazing performance; the movie itself was rather above the common audience. Anarkali has him doing what he has been doing the best.

Biju Menon is back to doing another amazing supporting role after playing the leading role in Salt Mango Tree which is already running in the theatres. With his unparalleled comic timing, he makes sure that this movie is full of fun. The comedy throughout this movie has his own touch. If you have watched the trailer and the main song in this movie, you will know what to expect from his character. He has always been good in these kind of roles, and here he once again proves the same. The opinions will be cent percent clear on this one, just like what happened with Vellimoonga.

Priyal Gor is not just incredibly cute, but manages to do an amazing job in this movie. She makes a very nice pair with Prithviraj and manages to has a grand entry as the heroine of this movie and into Malayalam movie industry. Samskruthy Shenoy also has her best role and this might be the character with whom the audience here will relate her – even though not the heroine, her character will immediately catch our attention with the expressions. Another one to bring the surprise is Suresh Krishna here.

Anarkali tells the tale that true love will survive, no matter whatever happens. There might be struggles on the way, and may be the beginning itself might be troublesome. But love is no love unless it wins over all these tests. In the end, Anarkali nicely establishes that love is beyond all barriers through not just one love story, and not just with the tales of love, but with situations which prove the same. There might be bigger hits, but Anarkali shows the way how a romantic movie should be done. Yes, it is undoubtedly about Premam and Ennu Ninte Moideen.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Page of the movie Anarkali.

TeNy

Towards the End of MCR

Among the major roads of Kerala, Main Central Road (MC Road) has a major place, officially known as the State Highway One. Built by Raja Kesavadas, Dewan of Travancore and starting from Kesavadasapuram in Thiruvananthapuram and ending at Angamaly where it joins the National Highway 47 from Kanyakumari with its end at Salem. As the very much traveled road ends at Angamaly, there are a few restaurants which I would like to recommend during its last few thirty-fourty kilometres of its journey.

As you go past Muvattupuzha from Koothattukulam, you are into the last thirty five kilometres of the journey through MC Road. After you leave the town, the first interesting restaurant that you reach will be at Pezhakkappilly, the Aaryas Food Court which will cater to your vegetarian needs. There is a wide variety of special dosas and the menu is quite an interesting one. Tea is available at all times including noon, and the varieties of Paneer there have been among my favourites.

The closing of Indian Coffee House at Pezhakkappilly has been the most depressing thing for me. I used to go all the way there just for the food at ICH, but unfortunately, all that is lost to us now. But Aaryas is there, and there is enough parking for some cars while the rest can be parked a little bit away from there on the side of the road. A former vegetarian restaurant there has also been restarted there, and if I remember the name correctly, it was called Hotel Paragon Park, and that is also a good restaurant.

This kind of setting was also there earlier for the restaurant mentioned above.

You get more restaurants when you reach Perumbavoor. Saravana Bhavan is right there keeping the quality as usual as you enter the town. It should be the vegetarian restaurant which I have visited the most number of times, and Poori Masala and Paneer Masala Dosa there have been my long time favourites. Just after this restaurant, there is Hotel Woodlands which is a smaller, but nice choice at cheaper rates. Aryas Dosa Corner is there near the main junction; but the location makes parking here more difficult than around the previous two.

After the rush in the Perumbavoor town is over and you go on, you will notice Ammu’s Dosa Corner on the right side, just opposite the Saint George Latin Catholic Church. The food is cheaper here, and there are many varieties of dosa here – you might want to try a few types. After that, you can have food from Annapoorna which is a standard place for people who return home after the church mass. For non-vegetarian, there is Honeydew restaurant which is only a few metres from there. The last two provides a lot of parking area.

As you go past Vallom and reach Okkal, there is Kerala Food Court has the best Appam I have had for quite a long time, and the Poori Masala as well as the dosa items are good too. The place has a lot of parking available, and it is a comfortable place which is very neat. This restaurant is my latest find in that route. Then you reach Kalady, and there you have the Indian Coffee House which will make the right choice for food as usual. There is also an Aaryas restaurant right beside it.

Another Indian Coffee House is there inside the Little Flower Hospital which I am yet to try. If you are going to stop at Angamaly town, there is the Rassam restaurant inside the KSRTC Bus Station which is a fine place for having some nice vegetarian food. Another Indian Coffee House is there inside the bus station, and there exists a Saravana Bhavan in the town too. Well, these are only a few of my favourite places, and it is certain that there will be no shortage of good food during the last stretch of Main Central Road!

When you go through MC Road, you will know that this church has its own Redeemer.

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung Cybershot DSC-W310 and Samsung Galaxy Duos.

TeNy

Liebster and the Facts

I once again got a Liebster Award nomination, this time from Sunaina. I have always loved reading her blog, and it feels great to receive another one. Thank you Sunaina 🙂 Here is her post.

THE RULES

1. Thank the nominator
2. Display the award
3. Nominate 10 more bloggers with 10 new questions
4. Answer the questions provided by the nominator
5. Notify the nominees

Now for the questions I have to answer:

Which of your blog posts is closest to your heart?

The College Days at UCC is the post which is right out of the heart and closest to it; not because it won a prize, but because I didn’t have to think about it – this one came instantly.

Who is your biggest critic?

That should be myself. I often have the kind of opinion about myself which I feel beyond my understanding – so much criticism.

What is happiness?

I am still searching for it. When I find it, I might be able to write a very long blog post about it.

Which is the most inspiring thing you have read recently?

I don’t really get that inspired. Many things are inspiring for common people, but when I give it a thought, nothing gets through me to provide inspiration.

Who is your favorite author/poet/writer?

That is a difficult question because I have loved works from different writers. But I would still prefer to answer my namesake, Lord Alfred Tennyson.

When it comes to appreciation, would you prefer a vote for your blog post or a comment?

I would prefer the comment if it is positive or interesting; otherwise I am ready to take the vote; well, you can vote anyway because it is so easy 😀

Walk at the beach or trip to the mall or a luxury cruise – what is your favorite kind of holiday?

I am not that interested in the three. About the malls, I go there so many times, and I have never been to a luxury cruise. I like the beaches, but it is still not an ideal holiday for me.

What are your thoughts about my blog or my style of writing?

I have always been interested in reading your blog. I don’t have thoughts about blogs that much to pass a judgment. Everyone is different in style and each is just unique.

Is it easy to forgive or forget?

Both are not really easy, but the former can be easier considering the situation and what it is about.

Who is your best friend?

As of now, I am afraid that I can’t talk about one. The position inside the soul is rather empty.

 

I am happy to nominate the following bloggers for this award:
Simon – http://simonsayswatchthis.wordpress.com
Raja – http://www.rajareviews.com
Ranjini – http://rangelz.wordpress.com
Sagarika – http://uncivilizedsophistication.wordpress.com
Sherna – http://meowconnect.blogspot.com
Namrata – http://namratakumari.com
Simran – http://myfriendshipsimran.blogspot.in
Amreen – http://painttheworldwithwords.wordpress.com
Roohi – http://www.roohibhatnagar.com
Sachin – http://jrnywithprabhu.blogspot.in

The questions for them are:

1. Which is your favourite comedy movie?
2. Which of my posts do you consider most interesting?
3. What do you think about end of the world?
4. Which is your favourite spiritual place?
5. Who will you choose between a zombie and a ghost?
6. Which is your favourite movie quote?
7. Which is the superpower that you need?
8. What kind of books do you read?
9. If you have to sacrifice one of the two, will you choose to get rid of Facebook or Twitter?
10. A cat or a dog? With spot for only one pet, which will you choose?

TeNy

The Liebster Returns

Thanks to Hema, for nominating me for the Liebster award 🙂

(http://jumbledhead.blogspot.in/2015/11/liebster-award-nomination-2015.html)

A long time had passed since my last blog award nomination, and longer time had passed since the last Liebster!

• 

   

  Rules related to LIEBSTER Award:

  1. As a token of acceptance of the award, do write a blog post regarding the award and post the link of the blogger who nominated you.
  2. Display the award on your blog.
  3. Answer the questions raised by the blogger who nominated you.
  4. Nominate other bloggers.
  5. Post questions to those bloggers.

Here are the answers to Hema’s  questions.

+Who/what inspires you in writing?
It is more of the need to do anything at a time when there is nothing to do.

+What’s the most difficult about blogging for you?
The feeling that this is going to be considered as a wastage of time by people.

+How are you managing time for your work life balance?
There is no work and there is no life for me. So it is very easy.

+What is the single activity which you love the most?
That should be drinking tea, and a lot more tea.

+What is the most special character in you which you adore in yourself?
I don’t really adore anything about me; it is not my plan.

+Which place you like to travel frequently?
To Indian Coffee House, for that tea and what comes with it.

+What 3 words describes you the best?
Thoughtful, Meaningless, Hopeless.

+List any 3 of your favorite bloggers at the moment?
Namrata, Maniparna, Raja.

+What is your favorite quote?
What comes to my mind right now: From the movie King Arthur (2004): “There is no worse death than the end of hope”.

+What are the tips/suggestions for the upcoming blogger?
Just don’t go for the prizes and glory; do what you love.

I am happy to nominate the following bloggers for this award:
Purba – http://www.purbablog.com
Vinitha – http://www.potpourriofmylife.wordpress.com
Roma – http://www.trulyyoursroma.blogspot.in
Bindu – http://www.moviereviewsbybinduc.blogspot.in
Swati – http://dreamerswati.blogspot.in

Here are the questions to my nominees:

*Which is your favourite movie of the 1990s?
*Where do you really want to go before you die?
*What will you choose between a Pista and a Chocolate Shake?
*Do you feel that life has a purpose? Why?
*If given a choice, will you choose arts or science?
*Which is your favourite post on this blog?
*What do you feel is the best thing about blogging?
*What do you think about Simona the Kitty?

TeNy

November the Fourteenth

The thing about November the Fourteenth is that it is the birthday of a popular actress – she has been a favourite among the youth since her debut through Mayookham in the year 2005 along with Saiju Kurup. It was a much appreciated movie even though there were cliches present. Due to cancer and the relapse, Mamta Mohandas hasn’t been much active in the Malayalam movie industry as expected. She was my favourite actress for a long time, and as she returns to the big screen with the movie Two Countries, I wish her all the best! Here is something about a few of her fine movies, as we celebrate Children’s Day in India.

Big B (2007): After Lanka and Madhuchandralekha, came Big B for Mamta Mohandas. Even though there is not much here for the leading actresses in this movie with nobody opposite Mammootty as the main heroine, this one had her catching our attention, thanks to the song “Muthumazha Konjal pole” in which she featured along with Bala. An unofficial remake of the American movie Four Brothers, the movie was more style than anything else, but it surely had Mamta as the main lady to be in the spot-light. That one song will be the first thing I will remember about this movie for sure.

Passenger (2009): After her fine debut in the movie Mayookham, there were many movies in which she caught out attention including Lanka and Big B, but I consider Passenger to be her big role. In this movie, she plays a journalist named Anuradha Nandan who tries to bring to light an influential politician’s secret plot to finish off a group of villagers who stand as threat to him. The movie which talks about the common man’s responsibility to the society, and how he has the right to challenge the system has been effectively portrayed in this movie. The movie works as a social thriller which tells us that we should be responsible.

Kadha Thudarunnu (2010): Another flick in his usual style from Sathyan Anthikad, this one still has the strength to make the desired impact. His 50th film as a director has Mamta Mohandas in the role of the protagonist Vidyalakshmi who runs away with a man from another religion Shanavas (Asif Ali) who is killed a few years after the birth of a child. The rest of the story talks about how she survives later, with no money or help from her relatives who have abandoned her, as an auto-rickshaw driver named Preman (Jayaram) along with local people who struggles with their daily lives decide to help her and her child.

My Boss (2012): Undoubtedly the funniest movie of the year, this one from Jeethu Joseph came before his two big ones Memories and Drishyam. Dileep and Mamta Mohandas made sure that this movie was full fun and among the big comedy entertainers, this one will have a special place. Mamta gave her most memorable performance in the comedy genre in this movie. Rich with the visuals of Kerala backwaters, this was a movie which came up with standard jokes instead of the low level which the genre was following during those days. You will see the comedy scenes from this movie very often on television.

Celluloid (2013): Winning the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film and National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam, Celluloid also went on to become a hit at the box-office. As the movie tells the story of J.C. Daniel who is known as the father of Malayalam cinema, Mamta plays the character of the protagonist’s wife. The winner of seven Kerala State Film Awards, this movie had Mamta in another memorable character which she managed amazingly well. It is a beautiful, tragic story of a man who tried to make the first Malayalam movie, Vigathakumaran and had to sacrifice a lot for the same.

I hope to see Mamta back in the Malayalam movies very soon. Even though I don’t like the movie Anwar because its original Traitor is a lot better movie with no slow-motion action sequences and having a more believable story-line, “Kanninima Neele” from that particular movie is the best song which she has been part of. I will leave you all with the video of that song. The movie also has another nice song “Kizhakku Pookkum”, but this one with its visuals remain my favourite. I am sure that you will love this one.

TeNy

Discovering Greatness

Life is a complex thing; for it has too many people, and we forget most of them. The society will brand some people as undeniably #madeofgreat, but we needn’t always agree. We have our choices because the same person might not make that much of an impact in our lives. The one who is #madeofgreat is the kind of person who will leave the lasting impression on us rather than for everyone else. It is not related to what anyone else thinks, but linked with how we see it.

Greatness is measured by many things, but I am going to consider this one right from the heart. Going back in time, there was one person who has been a long time inspiration for me. The story goes right back to the early days of school, that feeling carrying over to the college and it is still there. We don’t always get along, and the differences are many, but the impression was made early and it stayed. Do not inform my sister about this though, because I intend to keep this secret from her not revealing that she is #madeofgreat.

I have always been trailing throughout my life, trying to catch up with her achievements. She always had more trophies and came up first in school while my rank has varied from one to eight with consistency only in being second in the class, which was the more regular position for me. But my mother was never really surprised about it, and she once told me that my sister achieved this much by working hard while what I have achieved is because I am more intelligent, and I trail because I am lazy one with hard work never being my fortress.

I was rather too lazy to climb the mountains. Never really made that effort.

Yes, as I spent my time playing cricket with a little football and wandering around on the bicycle, she worked hard with the studies. Her hard work inspired me a lot, but I was sure that I might work hard, but not that much in the studies. She also participated in dance programs and drama to win prizes while the closest I came in school was to become the fourth swordbearer of a king in a drama, and I worked hard to let everyone know that I was in the school drama.

The twist came when she decided to leave home to become a nun. Nobody really liked that decision, but she was not backing away from it. I wondered when I could make such strong decisions; I actually found it difficult to make the decision to play a slow full-toss on the leg-side or the off-side – my decision making has always been like that. I have never been really sure about things, but this decision taken by her would inspire me to make many strong decisions later, even though there has been nothing this big in my entire life so far.

I used to keep my problems alive until some solution came up; at times, I even celebrated my problems. But she was always someone who found her own solutions to problems and discovered her own path – she was the problem solver of Mathematics while I lived with language and literature; I had declared Mathematics my immortal nemesis and so decided to keep that impression away from my likes. My plans were different, and the ideas get wings whenever the impression made by her grand decision comes to my mind.

The lasting impression of decision making never really ended there, as she became an M.Com graduate, cleared NET, did Phd and works as a lecturer in a reputed government aided college. She went through a clear path, and with the special super power of hard work, made it to the safe side. I delayed it, but did become the post-graduate – her achievements have left the lasting impression, and so maybe I will also get through some of these. My hope has been that delay doesn’t always mean denial, and one day I will also be #madeofgreat.

And here is a question: “What do you think of Tata Motors association with Lionel Messi?”

For more details about #madeofgreat, visit http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/

TeNy

The Lasting Impression

As we wander through the happy and sad corners of our mortal lives, there are many people who contribute in one way or the other. The number of such people will be very large, but there will be only a few people whose memories will last forever. It is a rare thing to find someone who is #madeofgreat, because not many people can belong to that category with ease. But some people and the memories about them are forever, and they will always be with us in one way or the other.

There was one such person, and he is also the first person who came to my mind when I first saw the hashtag and idea #madeofgreat. It is about that person who became the earliest brother figure, as he was one person whom I knew right from the earliest times as far as my memories go. Thinking about the elder brotherly figures, I can’t remember many who are not among my relatives, but when he comes to the mind, the strongest of my memories are right there, and they remain as strong as they have ever been.

This is my 400th post on this blog posted on the 493rd day of its existence, and I dedicate this one to that person who has been an inspiration to me for a very long time – Jean Mathew. I have mentioned him on a few of my posts on this blog earlier. He was the most hardworking and the smartest person I have ever known. He used to be my advisor for everything related to technology and I always took his advice whether I wanted to buy a new mobile, laptop, desktop or digital camera; he was an expert in such matters.

One of our earliest photos together, scanned from the old album collection.

During my Plus Two times with the Science-Computer branch, he was of great help, and he was a genius in matters related to technology. If I know something about computer, and related to the interest that I had in the same, I am always indebted to him. He was there to give the much needed advice during my early childhood entry into the world of computers. He was also my gaming guru, and I have always thought that he was the most intelligent and the one great expertise related to computers.

He was one person who was #madeofgreat, and I never had a doubt related to the same. He did prove the same when all odds were against him. He did fight hard throughout his life. It was while in the United States in 2008, working for IBS, that he was diagnosed with brain tumour. But facing the disease and going through the treatment with a positive outlook which I never had, he survived and managed to get better. His optimistic approach to life and belief in God had a positive influence on me too during those times.

There were some good times, but the disease showed signs of a relapse in 2011, and facing the tumour once again with a positive frame of mind, he left us for the better world on the third of March, 2013. He never complained, and he never lost hope. As he had gone for eternal sleep, I wondered how there will be no other person who was #madeofgreat like he lived his life, working hard, without complaints and always with hope and trust in this world as well as the other. His positive outlook has always made us closer to optimism.

There are stars which twinkle on the sky, and there are people #madeofgreat, like him, who will shine and twinkle in our minds forever. His amazing collection of brilliant photography and Bible Verses, both combined together, brought us hope, and he still comes to the mind and I often check his Facebook profile and blogs for those pictures and quotes. Times change and life moves forward, but a few things remain and a fewer number of people stay in our minds for eternity.

Cropped from his photo collections with inspirational Bible verses.

And here is a question: “What do you think of Tata Motors association with Lionel Messi?”

For more details about #madeofgreat, visit http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/

TeNy

Seven Faces of Beauty

There are not many places which I have visited with friends in the first half of the 2000s. But I am sure that there was one such a place, and this destination was so lesser known at that time that if we had talked about this possible location for spending some time during the weekend, people would ask why – there was Ezhattumugham. Most of the people during that time wouldn’t have known the location, but things have changed now. This place has become more popular these days, even though it is not yet a destination which brings a lot of crowd.

Enter the world of rocks; do you feel like Super Mario around here?

After visiting the place in 2004, I had another journey there in 2012 and was surprised at the changes which had happened there. In 2004, it was like a place rarely explored, and nowadays, there is a good number of visitors there. Earlier, the cars were rare to find, and most of the visitors were the youth who came on motor-bikes. But in the last few years, the fame did spread and families did start visiting the place and the facilities also did increase making it an official tourist destination.

The grand tree-house idea keeps making things better, all the time.

Even though it is located in the border areas of Ernakulam and Trichur districts, the place is only about fifty kilometres from the city of Cochin, and a journey from the Cochin International Airport will take only about thirteen kilometres. The nearest city is Trichur which is less than fifty kilometres away. You can take a turn at Angamaly or at Karukutty while coming from Cochin as you go through Aluva by the National Highway 47. A turn at Chalakudy might be the best road even though longer.

You have the right and privilege to get transported to this world.

The Chalakudy route is mostly preferred for the people who come from the North while the South has their own shortcuts. There was also a hanging bridge coming up to join banks of the river. The popularity of Ezhattumugham also has its roots in the Federal Institute of Science and Technology (FISAT) which is located about four kilometres from there. It is from the students of the reputed engineering college that I first came to know about Ezhattumugham and my first visit was also with one of them.

There is more beauty to nature than you will ever find in the known world.

Ezhattumugham is a place of serene beauty. There will be only less visitors during the morning times, and a walk through the place is nothing less than refreshing. With developments taking place as the potential has been realized, there are tree-houses and park facility for children along with small shops to have some nice tea on the entrance, with restroom facility also available on one side. You can walk quite some distance around there, looking at and capturing the beauty of nature.

You walk through this disconnected path, towards eternity.

You are free to walk on the rocks and water through nature as you witness trees fed by the water which surrounds them, and all those shapes which these rocks will take. As you walk on these rocks to reach the centre and the other sides of the river, you will feel the need to sit there and enjoy the beauty. You can also walk on the dam-like area to reach the other side. I haven’t seen where the new bridge actually begins and end; maybe it brings a better view of the beauty of the place.

It is the green side which pauses your journey each and every time.

Athirapally-Vazhachal waterfalls is also only about twenty four kilometres from here, and so you can combine both these destinations together to make it one nice package. The best places for food will still be Indian Coffee House which is present throughout the route from Cochin after Aluva. You can divide the day into two and cover both of them as long as you don’t slow down and start right when the places open for tourists. Ezhattumugham won’t be that safe during the rainy season though, and you have to be careful during the journey all the time if you are not used to this.

This tree welcomes you to Ezhattumugham as the official messenger of nature 😀

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me on my Sony Cybershot DSC W-310.

+Wishing you all, a Happy Deepavali/Diwali 🙂

TeNy