The world we live in!

Hello there, long time no see!
However for a change this time, I won't write a long huge post about why I didn't blog so long pretending as if I know why.

 I go into this weird state of mind sometimes, living at CMU in this era technology and innovation changing my life everyday. I wonder how far we've come, how much we've grown and outgrown. To be able to show that my dosa was a perfect circle paper roast on skype to people thousands of miles away instantly in real time - I definitely didn't think of that when I first created an email ID and that wasn't too long ago: it was less than a decade ago!
And now at CMU we have the butler robot HERB separating the cookie and the cream from the Oreo cookie. Who would have thought?!
Google glass, robotic DNA extraction, Soundhound, Personal robotic butlers... Where are we headed?!

Anyway, what prompted this post was - I was listening to a rather long song on the YouTube app on my iPhone. And then, I started texting a friend, so I had to stop listening to the song. The bad thing about tech wars is: iOS6 as of now doesn't support background playing of Youtube. I downloaded a youtube client app called Jasmine that would do it very well until recently but some update screwed it up!

Well, the point is, I wouldn't have expected even my history to be updated immediately on my youtube account when I opened my laptop. But hey, boom - not only was the history up-to-date (or up-to-second, maybe?), it started playing exactly from the point I had stopped listening! Oh wow, what a world we live in! I feel like my grandmom who calls all this magic, but sometimes the line is very blurry, thinking of it.... 

The fall is here...

Yes, my most favorite season is here! And with it came a lot of positivity, despite everything that went wrong! And that's why I like the fall. Despite being rather infamous for being depressing, I find it invigorating... Maybe it's just me.
Honestly, I think I like the change of seasons more than the seasons themselves, just because I like to look forward to change. Also, I like the fact that it reiterates that time is indeed fleeting, that things aren't gonna be the same for long. I know, the fall brings out the whimsical part of me and I love it!

Happy fall colors! :) Goodbye, summer!

Random lament!

Am I the only one who plays music so loud - that it is louder than my thoughts?! Well, it works - even after a 14 hour intense work day, extreme hunger pangs, sleeplessness and weird homesickness/missing-people state of mind. All I have to make sure is that the playlist is long and uninterrupted - Cocktail songs playing now. Give it a shot! The only problem is when something like 'Yaariyan' comes on, resonates with whatever thoughts you were trying to avoid and brings them up in full force! Sigh! 

Interesting people I meet...

Just found this post in my archives hidden amongst the many drafts... Sep 4,2011 is the date I wrote this, coming back from India! :) On to the post now...

Yes I am still alive - Alive with a mosaic of emotions engulfing me every single day. As I realized I need to write something simply because it has been long since I wrote a post and as I read old archives, it occurred to me that the blog was becoming more and more about me and me only. So I decided to write something that just took me by force during my India trip and that was not necessarily about me. That said, my India trip is something I can't miss writing about, so that should come very soon, God willing.

So after waiting for almost a week for that moment, I went to Marina, probably one of those places that makes me a totally different person. A place that has witnessed many of the most defining moments of my life, and as you can see, I can go on and on about it. The first thought that occurred to me as I set my bare foot on the sands of the beach - yes, I spent a fortune for Miami, something I had been dreaming of for quite sometime, I planned it so well that it would be on New year's eve when the whole city erupts partying and yes, I had one of the most rocking days of my life there. But Miami grossly lacks that weird little something that Marina has, and my heart skips a beat here. This is probably the only beach in the world where people wear a saree to, where you can take an 80 year old and a 3 year old at the same time and still manage to have some fun.

So as we were chitchatting over home-packed food and mangas from the beach, there came this tiny little boy around 7-8 years old, selling the iconic sundal. He said 'sundal vaangikonga ka' (please buy boiled chickpeas). My mom being this huge supporter of children's education being a teacher herself, asked him if he goes to school. He said he was going to the nearby corporation school and that was kind of obvious coz he was still in his school uniform. Here is how the conversation goes - pardon me, all the people who don't understand Tamil.

Mom: So which class are you in?

He: 2nd standard.

Mom: Which school do you go to?

He : The corporation school near___ place.

Mom: Ozhunga school-ku dhinam poviya? (do u go to school regularly?)

He: Aama apram miss thittuvaanga illa. (yes ofcourse, or my school teacher would scold me.)

Mom: Evlo neram vela paapa? (How long do u work?)

He: 8 :30 -kku school-ku poven, 3 manikku veetukku vandhuttu odane inga vandhuruven. Engamma sundal panni vechirukkum. Enga akka oruthi irukka, avalum naanum inga vippom.

Mom: Oru naalaikku evlo rooba kedaikkum?

He: Sani gnayiru apdina 600 kedaikkum, school naal-na 200-250 rooba kedaikkum.

Mom: seri onakku koota kazhikka ellam theriyuma? Rendam class dhane padikkara?

He : Hmmm theriyume (in that unimitable iconic tone). Neenga vena kelunga, kooti kazhichi solren.

Mom: Seri, oru sundal potlam evlo rooba?

He: 5 rooba.

Mom: ungitta naam ambadhu rooba kuduthu sundal vaangina evlo thirupi kuduppa?

He: Evlo sundal vaangireenga-ne sollala? (That's where I was bowled over. We were thinking it was a task doing (50 - 5) Never realized he would know multiplication!

Mom: 1 vaanginaka evlo?

He: naapathi anju

Mom: Rendu vaangina?

He: naapadhu.

Mom: 5 vaangina?

He: iruvathi anju. IN LIGHTNING FAST SPEED.

I should agree, with an Anna university degree, I was ashamed of my reflexes. My cousin who is in 3rd standard going to the best school in a Honda city, being taught by teachers with enviable degrees was put to shame with his speed. He was still borrowing to do the subtraction while this beach wonder just blurted out answers in a tone that said, thu ivlo dhana.

Mom: seri appa enna panraar?

He : Avaru kudichitu road-la vizhundhu kedapaaru.

Mom: Aiyo., Seri nee periyavanana ennava varanum?

Mom: Doctor ah? Engineer ah?

He: Police aaganum. Vijay maadhiri!!!!!

I don't know if i should smile or laugh aloud! :)

In the mood for old songs...

And please, no, don't expect black and white songs! These are songs I grew up watching on TV literally everyday for an extended period of my childhood.. So here it goes, the first one of these is what I would call the grand daddy of all item numbers in Tamil. And this is my dedication to my mom for, hmm, lets say Mother's day! She's gonna kill me if she reads this, but I know she likes this song a lot! :) And my dad too! So here it goes - saraku vechiriken... The funniest part of it is the English subtitles...

Just feels so liberating! Love this one!! :)