Rahmaniac !!

There is an adage in Hindi : Mata, Pita, Guru, Deivam which translates to Mother, Father, Teacher, God. The meaning of this adage is the order in which one should offer reverence. My sincere apologies to the person who coined it as I would like to add a person and change it to : Mata, Pita, Rahman, Guru , Deivam !!  You may think I am exaggerating but there isn’t a better way for me to show my deepest veneration for Rahman.

I think I was 6 when I first heard a song composed by Rahman and it was the song ‘Anjali Anjali’ from the movie Duet. Back then I did not know it was Rahman who composed that song. My mom recollects that whenever they played this song in radio, no matter which part of home I am in, I used to run and sit in front of the radio to listen to the song.

But it was until years later when I started to take a special interest in Rahman’s music, and eventually music in general. As an impressionable 13  old, the Rhythm album changed my life. I went through Rahman’s entire discography one by one. I remember bugging my mom to record cassettes of earlier works of his.

The excitement inside me for a new Rahman album has never changed.  The only thing which has changed is the format in which I hear it. Back then it was cassettes/ cd and now it is iTunes/ digital format.

Of late, there is a debate that Rahman’s music is not the same as what it used to be in the 90’s and he has lost his magic.  My take would be that his music has evolved. With each album he comes up with something new and he hasn’t stuck with a template. Tamasha would be a perfect example. His music is still relevant to current trends and you can still relate to his music. Being his fan you know I won’t give up on him 😜 , but I guess I made sense with my argument.

I would write about my favourite Rahman albums/ songs in my future posts.

Thanks to the man who made my life beautiful !

Muchas gracias, amigo!

I didn’t get a chance to watch the movie The Revenant in the theatres as I read mixed reviews about the movie. Oh boy, it turned out to be a blunder that I didn’t watch it on the big screen. I recently watched the movie on a copy that I bought from iTunes and I have such a movie hangover from it. All credits to this amigo – Emmanuel Lubezki.

This isn’t the first time that I have a movie hangover after watching a movie captured through the lens of Emmanuel Lubezki. Children of men, Y tu mama tambien, Birdman and Gravity were the other movies.

When I first saw The Revenant, it immediately triggered my camera nerd nerve, with lots of intense looking close up shots and some seriously intense use of wide-angle lenses. Take this shot  for example: Leo is petrified by the fact that the Arikara tribe is heading towards him. The only way we know that the tribesmen are approaching towards him is the sound of the horses but this close shot shows the danger he is in . There are lot of shots in the movie where there are less dialogues spoken but the close shots reveal the intensity of the scene.

I read that except for one shot the entire movie was shot in natural light which I think is really commendable given the fact that the entire movie shot in winter and hardly do we have sun light.

The other thing which I really like about his work is the long shots. I was stunned when I first watched Children of Men. The movie, set in a future London plagued by terrorism and migration issues, acquires a documentary-like aura due to the experience of seeing events unfolding in real time and Chivo’s (as he is fondly called by his colleagues) long shots did the trick. Before Children of Men , I have never seen any movie which employed long shots so effectively.

 

Thanks Chivo for inspiring me! Hope I take better pictures.

 

 

 

Anna’s shop

Being a foodie, I wanted to blog about food for a long time and I was wondering about which place I should start with- should I write about the breweries I visited in Bangalore or the posh restaurants in Chennai. Then the thought came to me that there are lot of ways by which you would know about those places. So I will reserve those places for my future blogs.

There are lot of small eateries in Coimbatore which have no names and their identity is either their food or the christened name by the crowd who purlieu them. All these eateries are predominantly vegetarian and since I was a vegetarian till second year of my college (Striving hard to be veggie again !) these eateries were my solace. So I am gonna write about one such place and its called Anna (elder brother) kadai a.k.a Anna shop (This is the thing with Coimbatoreans, irrespective of a guy’s age we call him Anna 😉 ). The guy in the red lungi here is our Anna.

 

It’s a paani/masala poori outlet and is more that 3 decades old. To say that they serve the best paani/masala poori in the entire world is an understatement. You have to taste to it experience. It has a tanginess and sourness which I have never tasted in any of the paani poori stalls. I have been visiting to this shop since I was kid and I would say that it still tastes the same as the first paani poori I had there.

They also serve Bhel poori, curd vada and curd poori but their must tries are masala and paani poori.

Apart from food, these eateries makes me feel nostalgic. Growing up in a vegetarian family  we had only a few places in coimbatore to eat out and this was one of the few places which my parents took me. Food for both stomach and soul I would say.

Another thing which I wonder about these eateries is the fact that why they haven’t scaled up their operations or at the least change the way how the shop looks. These eateries looks the same which it was when I saw as a kid. Do they still prefer to keep in its pristine form? Only they know what’s in their mind.

Anyone reading this blog decides to go to this place here is how to reach there – google this address :

D. Mahalakshmi Bakery, Rangai Gounder Street, Raja Street, Town Hall, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641001

Once you reach here, you will find a small paani poori outlet , bustling with people. That’s your place. Happy Munching !!!

The Second Chance !!

For many dreams do become true! What if the dream was weird ? What if the dream was about a Elephant chasing you? What if the dream came true? If you ask me the answers for all these is a big YES.

 

So me and my friend went on a ride to Nagarhole national park in Karnataka. We stayed overnight in the forest guest house and settled up with just 2 beers each as we had long journey back to Bangalore the next day.

Early next morning the curious photographer in me decided to  capture a few shots around the park. I woke up my friend who was yet to recover from the hangover of just 2 beers 😉 and off we roll to take pictures. So me sitting in the pillion started clicking pictures and we came across a beautiful view-point. We decided to take portraits and parked the bike on the side of the road. Then a patrol of  forest officials came and chided us for having parked in mid of a national park. They also warned that two jumbo were roaming just 500 meters away.

Unintimidated by the warnings of the officials and curious to see the elephants we head down further the road. Few meters down we see the first elephant and we slowed the bike. We were awestruck by the sight of it and were speechless. After a moment I realised that the officials said us that there were 2 elephants. So I ask my friend: ‘Dude where’s the other elephant?’. The moment we realised about it , there was the second guy trumpeting and rumbling towards us.

I was completely taken aback but something inside me said I was gonna survive this and my friend then strode the bike (his biking skills in action B-)) The elephant didn’t stop and almost came near us. It whisked it’s trunk and there was this ‘SWOSSSSSHHHHHHH’ sound which still resonates in my ears.

So the takeaways for me from this incident was I got a second chance in my life and to never take animals for granted (domestic or wild). They have their own space and privacy. Just because you have extra sense than them doesn’t mean we have an edge over them. After this incident I have changed to the extent that whenever a dog chases me while driving bike I make sure I stop and feed them.

P.S :These are the basic rules to abide in a National park which has been framed by the Government of India (we didn’t follow 4 and 5. Hopefully 6 didn’t happen)

1. Obey Speed Limit

2. Do Not Feed Wildlife

3. Shouting, Teasing or Chasing Animals is Prohibited

4. Do Not Get Out of Your Vehicle

5. Don’t Park Vehicle On Road Side

6. Those Who violate the Regulation will be Prosecuted and Punished According Law

7. Keep Noise levels down

8.Do Not Dispose rubbish

 

COIMBATOREAN !!!

I was contemplating on writing blog posts for a long time but I was carried away by TV shows and movies. So how did I start ? I got inspired by a friend and a fellow blogger. Thanks to her blogs and hopefully she keeps me inspiring to continue blogging.

So as I was pondering over what I should write about in my first post, what better choice than my city COIMBATORE !!!!!!!!.. (See the excitement and you can feel more in my face)

For me Coimbatore is more than a City its an identity. Though my lineage is from North Canara and Kerala, my sensibilities are that of a COIMBATOREAN. I would say myself and my city evolved together. We both are not the same what we used to be decades back.

What is so distinct about Coimbatore??

It’s the fact that it has all the hustle of a big metropolitan and the calmness of a country side.  The other thing is that Coimbatore shares borders with both Kerala and Karnataka. It has imbibed cultures of both these states and has its native Tamil culture. Coimbatore is also home to a significant population of Telugu and North Indians. So going by this fact I would say Coimbatore is more diverse and cosmopolitan than other cities in Tamil Nadu. (Chennaiites would definitely deny this )

The things I love about Coimbatore??

The Western Ghats!!! Coimbatore is surrounded by Western Ghats and all the scenic destinations in the western ghats are easily accessible from here. The Nilgiris is so close to Coimbatore that me and my coterie drive to the tea estates to have fresh Tea. See how fortunate we are !! This love and obsession for the Western Ghats have made me explore further destinations in the western ghats like Chikamagaluru, Kemmengudi, Kudremukha, Bandipur/Masinagudi and Nagarhole (Still lots in my bucket list).

Next comes the warmth and altruism of my fellow residents. Coimbatoreans are considered to be well-mannered and respectful people. This can be inferred by the Tamil slang of Coimbatoreans. I was residing in Chennai for a few years and wherever I go people identify me that I am from Coimbatore by my slang. That’s how respectful we are!!

Then of course it’s the food of Coimbatore. Coimbatore has some unique dishes which you can’t find anywhere else. Trust me even people of Chennai or any other part of Tamilnadu haven’t heard or tasted it. So I would list down the most popular .

The first in the list is eggplant Chutney. I don’t who came up with this recipe but if see that person I would definitely fall on her/his feet. It would be something like you would have never tasted before.

Next is Arisi parupu sadham which translates to Dhal Rice. I know what you are thinking.. What’s so special about a Dhal rice?? It’s about certain ingredients that has to been added that makes it unique from the regular dhal rice.

Last but not the least its the Kaalan varuval (a.k.a Mushroom fry), a famous street food in Coimbatore. Ask any youngster in Coimbatore about their favourite fast food , you would expect the answer to be Kaalan and not the likes of KFC, McDonalds. The reason why it is so famous is it is economical (It comes for just 15 bucks) and tastes so good. My favourite spot for this dish would be ARC (Click the link to know more). This shop has a huge fan following that people have started fan pages in facebook 🙂

There are lots to write about Coimbatore and my experiences with this city which I will doing in my future posts.

Till then ALL HAIL COIMBATORE !!!

 

P.S: Coimbatore is known for its pleasant climate and the summers are very mild. But as I write this blog the temperature has soared close to 40. The reason for this is definitely me and fellow Coimbatoreans. We as responsible residents have failed to act against the cutting of trees which the authorities have been doing in the name of developement. Hope the authorities come up with sustainable development plan and we raise our voices.