Athirapilly Waterfalls

Waterfalls are something I thought would be fun and something liquid. But who in the world would know that it is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l !! I always wanted to watch the Niagara Falls but Athirapilly is quite a temporary substitute. After parking our cars, all my cousins were discussing about Aishwarya Rai's shoot here and blah blah..It was interesting until we reached the commencing point. Then all mouths shut and not even an A was uttered of the Aish....

The journey is loooong but since we need to move downwards it wasn't too stressful. Also the scorching heat was not felt cos of the cooling effect of the waters. I don't know how to describe the falls and the beautiful nature embracing it but I can express them through some photos I took. There was a thin rainbow but couldn't take any pics of that cos my cam had undergone a water ride and the lens were adamant about doing any work at all...

You can check the pics out HERE.


*** MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL ***

Voices Within - Interview of Bombay Jayasree and T.M.Krishna

To catch a glimpse of the video GO HERE.


The rest of which I could not upload is here:

Neha: Sir, could you comment on the growing popularity of fusion music?
T.M.K: There is always going to be a form of music which is appealing worldwide in terms of the mass. It tries to bring in few forms of music together in one platform. I have nothing against fusion provided it each form is presented well which is easier said than done. There have been few failures and some who have been successfull but as far as the performers know their music well, it's a good way to attract people who haven't been open to Carnatic and Hindustani music. Today, everyone thinks fusion is about asking someone to play a drum and then asking another to sing an alapana .

Neha: What about fusion between Carnatic and Hindustani?
T.M.K: I won't call that a fusion at all...

Neha: I meant their style of rendering is different.
T.M.K: What usually happens is that a performer of one form tries to sing the other and vice versa which leads to a show of rythms between the tabla and the mridangam or the drum or rythm pad ,etc. That's when it loses it's real essence. If done, should be done with a lot of taste which is not easy to find.

Neha: Mam, You are a playback singer too. I have heard that doing a lot of riyaz in classical music could effect the style of rendering in light music. Is it true?


B.Jayasree: I think your query is very subjective and differs from person to person.Being a classical singer who dabbles a little bit into playback ,if the song suits me ,I don't think the above statement is true. It only helps the singer in moulding the voice and in no way can it harm the style. If that would be the case then no classical singer would be able to do playback which is the order of the day. If you know how to compartmentalize it and if the music director knows what he wants to get out of you and is clear about why he wants you to sing a particular song , then there should be no confusion.

Neha: Sir, could you explain me the differences between major and minor ragas?

T.M.K: Firstly, I don't think there is any classification such as minor and major ragas in Indian music. In Western music we have minor and major scales which could be considered equivalent to the swaras in Shankarabharanam and Kheeravani .I would interpret your question as major ragas are commonly sung and minor ragas are seldom used.

Neha: What is voice culture all about?

T.M.K: It's about having the right way of production of the voice for the system your are practising. You may have a greta culture for opera singing doesn't mean you can sing a Carnatic concert tomorrow. Certain people having better voice culture than the other is completely false. Like you had asked Jayasree about playback singing ,it's about being able to adapt to that system of singing depending on what form you are rendering. Each form requires a different way of production, aesthetic flavour and a different intonation.

Neha: Mam, do you Classical singing helps one in being versatile?
B.Jayasree: You have to be versatile to sing Classical music. (all smiles)

Neha: Versatile as in Ghazal singing,etc..
B.Jayasree: The process you go through mental, physical training of the voice is a huge training. One can adapt to another form of music easily.

*Glooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom*
my voice is still a goner :( I watched Vaaranam Aayiram day before and I loved it. I got a lot of mixed reviews especially from a couple of friends in Chennai who said it's a total flop. But apart from few slips between the cup and the lip the movie was awesome and so were the songs. I start and end my day with mundhinam. Without any guesses the best part is at the beginning itself when Surya starts with the dialogue 'Hi Malini'. Too bad for those who couldn't enjoy it.I watched Rab Ne Bana di Jodi too which is average. I think the new girl in the block is pretty and has quite some skills but then Adi just messed up the ending bit especially when she finds her "rab" only at the last minute and stuff... My next target : Ghajini..much talked about I know. Sonu's humming in Guzarish..hands down...

College has closed and now I am looking forward to ten days of total fun .Still planning where to go for New years and Christmas.. Any suggestions?

Powerless...

I feel like a superwoman without her cape. Post wedding and after all the hush bush..I naturally had to fall sick...but I had never even in my dreams thought that I would sound like Rani Mukherji. I have always loved her voice and would even try to maintain it once it got that rough when I get a cough. But then I miss my singing voice and came to a conclusion that no Rani Mukherji or whoever can beat mine :D
Now ,with all the cold and cough my voice is a total goner. And I am *Glooooooooom*

The Navarathri track for Doordarshan

Has finally been uploaded God knows after how much of patience. You can listen to it HERE. Gopan uncle, Ravi Shankar, Archana and I were a part of this. It was my first recording for Doordarshan and I consider it very lucky for me cos it happened during the season of Navarathri and under the guidance of my guru, Perumbavur G. Ravindranath who also happens to be the music director of this particular piece. I was asked to learn these songs on a very short notice and it was some experience! To read the earlier post on this go HERE.

Snapshots re-loaded!

Yesterday I and the newly wedded couple and my cousins went out for a 'break' from the wedding mess....the beach...

After a looong time I got to use my photography skills (just a little bit).And please don't complain about the flash... I think it just looks good that way...One is with a thin, tall prominent coconut tree which you can view HERE. It was after clicking this one that I kept cribbing about my stupid camera and its battery and blah blah. I couldn't figure out the problem a few months before cos none of the batteries worked. Then I figured we needed alkaline and when I told dad that, he said that's what I have been trying so far. That did burn my brain cells but I required the camera to work for obvious wedding related situations. Wanted every single moment to be captured. And hence my cousin finally got me this pair of batteries which can be charged when it runs out of some :)...So much for cameras and batteries. Anyways... the second one is without the coconut tree... I don't know any other way to describe it...check it out HERE.

Next pic is the one with the caption me..So don't miss this one... GO HERE.

My Big Fat Sis Wedding

Finally!! All the phone calls and close whispers and the put-me-to-sleep-days were finally on the cards when my sister's fiancé landed here. The best part is the one inclusive of preparations for the big day. It's more fun than shopping... cos I ain't a shopaholic :) (In spite of being a girl). I was basically in charge of nothing not cos I was getting through a busy schedule but cos my dad (I assume) must have found me clumsy. Anyways I was all the more busy dieting and shedding kilos to look great (I am well aware of the fact that I am not the bride!!). In fact I and my sister were rivals cos I wanted to lose more than her and vice versa. You can call it fate if you want ... but she won... and as usual I am still plump :). Now when you read 'preparations' things that bounce into your mind are catering, lights, wedding hall, transport blah. But to me preparations were supposedly trying on costumes, testing the food prepared for the pre wedding guests and things similar to that. I am never going to grow up isn't it?

The day before the wedding, sis was busy posing for shots and so was I .FYI it is a day where a lot of invited (and uninvited) guests land up with gifts posing for the camera. Many of which I have never even heard of. And the worst part is when some guys you don't know turns up asking if you know them and we obviously nod expecting them not to ask you 'ok who am I?’. And that expectation totally cracks and to add fuel to fire you are stuck with absolutely no help. Food was fun ... it was the best cos that was the last dinner with my sister as a bachelor. Loads of fun, food and scary remarks like -uh-oh your getting married tomorrow, or - oh no!! With one guy forever! And etc.

Wedding day went super fast I must say. And carrying myself in that golden net sari was not the 8th wonder but yeps! Somewhere near that. Sadya was awesome except for one of the payasams made of banana apparently. I reached the reception hall late in the evening cos apparently it's fashionable for girls to reach late at parties :). Hogged some food and some hot caramel custard (which was yuck!) and then it was Barry Manilow's 'The lion sleeps tonight'...Zzzzzzzz

The next day a whole lot of people came over for lunch and obviously I had to sing songs and so did everyone except for dad who is still shy when it comes to singing in public... no wonder I still have stage fright. Mom says stage fright is my kooda porappu..but woteva...and there ends it all... and I apologize to all my blog readers for updating after a month.. but my only sister's wedding did keep me committed.....so back to singing and blogging and everything... Ciao

Time is a pinch and here I am with some humor stuff directly from the book of Khushwant Singh's Joke Book 2.

1) What do you call a man from Kerala, who picks up all the girls he wants to?
Pheno Menon.

2) A rich businessman was telling his friends his plans for his three unmarried daughters. "I've put aside Rs. 2,00,000 for Savitha who's 22, a Rs. 4,00,000 dowry for Vinita, who's 27 and Rs. 8,00,000 for Namita who's 36."

"Sir," said an ambitious young bachelor," do you have a daughter who's 50?"

and keep watching this space

Meghmalhar

Is the name of my new home in Kowdiar. I've been waiting since months to shift and finally the day has come. A mission finally accomplished. We did the paalu kaachal in Trivandrum style. First the 'vaastu pooja’, then the ganapati homam which was followed by a small griha pravesh pooja. Mom had to carry the lamp and sister was given the pot of milk. The milk which was considered very auspicious because it was the first milk given by a cow that gave birth to her calf few days back. Superstitions...but they all sound so fancy! I was, finally as the youngest given a bamboo sheet which contained vegetables of each kind. I was very young during the house warming of my first home in Trissur. There, all we did was heat some milk in a steel pan and wait for it to flow out. And *Tadaa* the house is inaugurated. But here things are done more emotionally, out of devotion. Not only house warming. Whether it is something as complicated as a marriage or something as simple as a welcome function for a new born baby, things are always celebrated is a big way out here. Sometimes it is overwhelming and sometimes it can get onto my nerves. Anyways ...entering into my house everyone's favourite 'room' is mine :D
Breakfast was simple with idli, vada, sambhar and chutney. Then some ghup shupping and chit chatting led to 'kumbhasaranam'- sleeping. Earlier I was discussing about how I am going to kill time till lunch but then it was sorted out..After the mighty nap all of us went straight to the dining where we had the traditional food served on banana leaf of course. After which all of us hogged on some parippu vadas. Hardly any space and my food pipe were protesting against any more entry of the unhealthy oily snack that I had to lose and stop the eating game. Game?? Did I just say game? OH my! You never know ...always have tendencies to play with things I love. Nevertheless, almost went through an eating competition.

Right now I am just finished with ending pooja which is devoted to the Goddess. All's well that ends well. So far so good...All cousins will be staying over and right now I am going to get back to my game...Oops! Dinner I meant.

Navarathri

I adore the whole Guru-shishya parampara but it's sad that we hardly practice it anymore. It's overwhelming when you get blessings from your Guru on the very special day - Vijayadashmi. Today morning I sang few keerthanas and then headed off to my Guru Sri. Perumbavur Ravindranath's place for his blessings. There I got to sing few famous krithis like Sri Varalakshmi, Saraswathi Vidhiyuvathi, initially starting off with few slokas like Sarva Mangala Maangalye and some geethas i.e. 'Sree Gananatha' and 'Vara Veena'. Collected the prasad after singing and when I stepped out I felt as though I went through a "relief-abhishekam" where I felt like all my sins are washed away through the reception of my Guru's blessings. I had done a small work for the Navarathri for Channel Doordarshan via All India Radio. A dance had been choreographed with children of various age groups participating in it. It was aired today morning at 8:00 am. There is a repeat telecast tomorrow at Doordarshan at 5:10 pm. Do try to watch it. Wishing all of you the nine blessings of Navadurga i.e. name, fame, health, wealth, happiness, humanity, education, power and devotion.

Apoorva

I had the privilege to sing under Sri. Vidhyadharan sir for the movie Apoorva. It is directed by a 19 year old, Nithin. The recording is my first for Playback and I am happy I got to do it under the guidance of my Godfather. It took around 45 minutes to complete the session and got the CD only today!! :D .... The star cast is brand new and we have some good budding artists lined up.... You can listen to the audio here. And do give me honest feedback.. *stay tuned*

Soumya Viswanathan

How does it feel to be cheated by fate? That's what happened to the HT journalist who was shot by some mean guy at the wee hours as she was driving in her Zen. Things can get out of our hands without a hint. My friend Vishnu passed on this thing which Soumya's friend had written after her death:

During the postmortem, the doctor noticed a small entry wound on the right side of her forehead and found a bullet lodged in her brain under the left temple. ‘‘The impact of the bullet was such that a portion of the victim’s scalp was torn off and fell in front of the backseat. The bullet was removed from her head and it appears to be from a .315 bore country made pistol,’’ said the officer.

The car’s window was rolled up when the bullet hit her and the AC was on. She was shot from the driver’s side while apparently driving at high speed, said the officer
The car was apparently moving when she was shot and the only witness to the incident is a cyclist who saw the car hitting the central verge from a considerable distance and informed a cab driver who called the police.

The cops are probing all angles, including road rage. Since the car and her belongings were left untouched, carjacking or robbery has been ruled out. They are at a loss to provide a motive.

‘‘The car was standing in an inclined position, partly on the centre verge and partly on the road, with the body inside. The lights were on and we didn’t notice the bullet injury,’’ said an officer from the Vasant Kunj police station. ‘‘The front tyre on the driver’s side had burst and the wheel had twisted out of shape. We initially thought it was a regular fatal accident.’’

She was young, vivacious, liked by all and good at her job. Now, she is dead. Mystery shrouds the murder of a 25-year-old producer, Soumya.

Viswanathan, from an English news channel early on Tuesday morning at Vasant Kunj in south-west Delhi. Soumya was found dead in her white Zen car with a bullet in her head around 3.40am, about half-a-kilometre from the Vasant Kunj police station on Nelson Mandela Road. She was headed home to C-9 block in Vasant Kunj.

Police said they received a call around 3.40am about a young girl lying dead in her car with the car’s ignition and headlights still on. Initially, it was believed to be an accident — the bullet wound was noticed only during the postmortem.

*RIP SIRE*

The Festive Season

I was switching channels out of curiosity and came across this Hindi soap which had all the stars doing the garbha as the Navarathri is approaching. Now this brings back some of the fondest memories from Muscat. I remember that during Navarathri apart from the 8th day where we have to keep our books in front of God and not study the entire day, the most exciting part was playing 'dandiya'. Everything from selecting our clothes to choosing partners would begin at least 2 weeks before the night. We would dance and dance till dawn and that too in some of our very specially choreographed steps! All the girls will look fabulous in the glass work cholis and all the guys will look better-than-their-school-uniform-looks *teehee* Well maybe those were the days where we get to see them in their most fashionable attire with their hair gelled up and wotnot!! Really miss all that here... last Navarathri had no clue what to do as I was just new to this place... but does anyone have any clue about if dandiya nights are organized in Trivandrum?? Would definitely be of some great help :D

And finally my 'Birthday month' is coming over to an end and the next month isn't too bad with my parents' wedding anniversary coming up and with the new house shifting and Navarathri and Eid... it's quite a festival month. Wishing everyone a happy festival month.....here's me..signing off

Happy Onam

The Trikaakarappan




*WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY ONAM :) *

The Holy month of Ramadan

The holy month of Ramadan has commenced and it feels completely different from what it was when I lived in Oman. Then, all we school kids used to wait for the fasting period to start as that would reduce our school timings by half an hour and also meant that we would get to sit through a boring history class for just 30 minutes instead of a 45-50 minute. And trust me 15 minutes makes a huuuuuuuuuge difference. I remember that during my twelfth, after my accounts tuitions my dad would take me to this small place where we get amazing samosas and suntop ! Suntop was one of my favorite drinks out their. There used to be these silly stickers along with it and I used to collect them. No clue where they are now :( No one was allowed to eat or dance or entertain in any form from 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for if we do then God save us. The Govt. is quite strict there. A whole lot of my Muslim friends would start their 'dieting' and would naturally end up putting on at the end of the fasting period due to unhealthy eating manners. Very few people followed a healthy diet. But majority ate less before the fast and would hog anything that comes their way at the time of the break. Everything is tolerable..But to survive without water! That too in a hot desert...quite a challenge! But in India it's a different feeling altogether. I've never got into that mood. I mean some people fast some don't but it’s no big deal. It's not a big thing here. Or I may have to visit a colony inhabited by Muslims to witness all the fun and preparations. Wishing everyone a Happy Ramadan and Onam :D

Born in Kerala

The much talked about 'Born In Kerala' album done by Jakes Bejoy was inaugurated on the 23rd of August in Le Meridian, Cochin by Harris Jayaraj. The same the ,it's production house -TOT Music was also launched. I am happy that I could sing a song for the album ..and for more stuff go HERE.

To check their blog you can go HERE . To get a glimpse of their trailor just go HERE .

A lot of other singers like Madhubalakrishnan, Sayonara, the Idea star singer team, Franko and Stephan (Amrita superstar) also took part in the function and even performed.

The past two weeks have been one helluva time... recording and singing and recording and singing!! Some good audios your way..will be coming soon. When I sing one line where I feel I've given the best the MD will be like 'Cut' ! And it's just the best when he says a 'super' after recording maybe just a word. Each time I go behind the mic I feel like a total fool .Like as though I have never been trained and God knows why they chose me to sing. But it all evaporates the moment the MD gives you a thumbs up. And finally I have figured that recording is hard. Not all fun you see. Keep tuned for more yapping abt my bragging :)

I hate reptiles or insects. Actually the people have given two names for the species but honestly I find all of them the same and precisely ugly. I just hate the sight of a lizard or even a tiny bug that takes a stroll over my laptop keys. HATE THEM. I get so freaked..I know that it's not going to harm me but you never know..it could poop on my lappy and that's one way to get me go bizzare. Oh...except one...alligator!!! I started finding it cute after the alpenliebe add :D But I still find them disgusting in animal planet :O..Heaven disguises itself in many forms like Chocolate Fantasy at Ccd....then the smell of the soil wet from rains, Tandoori Conizza from Pizza corner.... and the smell of Enchanteur..aaah!!! Once I had gone for a sleepover to my friend's place who is kinda rich! And her servant always makes us fancy ,traditional/ authentic cuisines. So usually instead of just ordering a Tuesday fever or a Big sunday we just wait for some real stuff. And that time she had served us authentic Chinese sizzler. It was yummy yum. All of us were absolutely drooling and we hardly show manners whilst eating food. The desert was just something!! They had got this 'machine-sort-of-thing' which pours out the liquid form of whatever hot item is put in. Not a juicer or a mixer. It was exclusively known as the Chocolate maker or something like that. Aunty had got loads of big chocolate bars and the juice was squeezed out of it . Now we thought we were suppose to lick them all like a hungry hooligan but it turned out to be something different!! We were given a large plate which contained of all sorts of fruits and we were given each a toothpick. We pricked a piece and put it right below the lavishly flowing hot melted chocolate and once the fruit was covered with hot liquid we pop it into our mouths (Like duh!!! I know!) Strawberrys were the best one to compliment the melted liquid. My ! that was seriously something awesome and the best version of heaven :D ......now I'll go catch some Zzzzzzzzz.....

Working and studying have consumed a major portion of my life. Yups I am working!! For TOT Music..that is yet to launch. The launch is going to take place in Le Meridian ,Cochin on the 23rd of this month. Harris Jeyaraj will be launching Jakes Bejoy's 'Born in Kerala' . Jakes is known for 'Malayalee' and Coffee at M.G. Road. And already having listened to the songs of the album I can guarantee it's a 10/10. Promotional activities of TOT have already started and watch out for it. I am working for the creative section and hopefully we'll be having FM channels too. There was a write up on Born in Kerala in the Indian Express dated 13 August. This sounds like fun and soon we will be coming with a lot more albums and videos and hopefully movies which will be produced by TOT Visuals! The programmes on the launching day may have a range of singers performing including Subhiksha, Jakes, Sabarinath, Ranjith, me ,etc. Total music..total fun! Blogging did take a back seat for a while but now I'll make sure that it is updated with everything going on in my life. STay TUned.....

The Princess Wedding

The best wedding reception I've seen so far. Resort Maria is set in the backwaters in Allepey. The houseboats, the traditional boat race and the 'kuttanadu kayalile' song has tempted me from such a long time to visit this place. And I had been invited before but couldn't make it due to other plans. But this one was just unavoidable. Couldn't attend the wedding but I thought the reception would be just formal with a toast and a couple of thank-you notes and then maybe food as they are christians. But I was totally overwhelmed and have crowned Dr. Thomas (the bride's father) the most cool and happening dad of the year!! As we had reached the resort early we were just waiting for the couple and the families to arrive .The waiting went on for seconds and minutes and then there was the sound of a million crackers being burst up on air. Beautiful. The houseboat kept moving forward and the crackers went on bursting and the third most glamorous thing was the the 'chenda-mela' being played on the top of the boat. The whole team were standing above and playing it live. It was like a 'puram'. And after the beautiful reception, the bride and groom entered and were seated on a panthal!! They had a hindu marriage with just the garlands and the 3 rounds and the honey and bananas. Let me remind you... they both are Christians. I've never seen such a way of celebrating before. Not a hindu wedding with all the customs but just the main ones. Infact Dr. was a little tensed and kept looking at me to check if what they were doing was in the right way or not. When on stage, Dr. was asked to do the toast and instead of champagne, the drink was substituted for 'karikku' water :D It was absolutely fantabulous and I really don't have words to express this reception. Like I mentioned before ,I usually never sing for weddings, or receptions or any kind of personal celebrations but this one was just unavoidable. I ,as per Dr.'s request sang Madhuraikyu pogathedee, Sutrum vizhi, Valkannezhuthi with Gopan uncle and the last but the best Paarthu mudhalnaale with Dr. himself. He went completely out of track at the ending bit and I just went laughing on stage forever. But he never feels bad. The party was catered by Naushad and the starters included crabs, lobsters, prawns, octopus, chicken. duck and for vegetarians just paneer! I just couldn't have anything .Had lots of deserts though. It was a great party anyways...and Rose definitely did have a princess wedding!

The beginning to an end

Quite busy with a lot of work and hence blogging had taken a back seat for the past few days. The whole bomb blast thing has alerted the habitants of every metro .And to make it worse apparently the next target is Kerala. I thought this would be the last place to be targetted as we are the ones heading off to become a metro and obviously don't stand a chance to be the victims. And there is seriously no point in asking people to evacuate the busy places as you see nowadays bombs come in tiffins! Too bad..where should the Police squad even start their search from? My friend was in B'lore just two days back when the blast happened. And these guys were planning to spend the weekend there despite all the mess and blood. But I guess they came back to their senses as soon as the police defused a bomb at Forum. Imagine...Forum being sealed and not a single human being chilling out at the favourite hangout spot in B'lore that too on a Saturday!! India just keeps falling lower and lower everyday, thanks to the bomb planters. I guess the world will soon come to an end and maybe we won't be able to witness a Love Story 2050 live..:P So much for future assumptions!!

Gurupoornima was a great success!! It was completely an exciting experience cos I got to perform in front of Shri Dakshinamoorthy Swami. Mr. Soorya Krishnamoorthy was felicitated along with Swamiji and M. Jayachandran sir was also present for a short period of time. Will upload the pics soon and will try getting the videos.

Today morning I had to enter my home through the back doors! Yup! my front lock is totally screwed up and will require some mending work ..so as of now I have to get used to the 'thief' life. I will be attending a Christian wedding for the first time in my life :) , at Taj Malabar Hotel. I usually never sing for weddings and receptions but this friend is a special one so will be doing some simple yet dishy numbers.

Watched JTYJN...sooooo cute. Honestly, it's not critically acclaimed and blah blah and story was quite obvious..but the comic element is really strong and the acting is fab of Genelia and Imraan (ga ga !!). The best was the songs..especially Kabhi Kabhi.

Have uploaded few pics of the grey sky.. check them up RIGHT HERE.

GURUPOORNIMA CELEBRATIONS 2008

The Mandolin when played by Ramesh Narayanji completely swept me off my feet. You can catch it live tomorrow at Hotel Pankaj, Statue, Trivandrum. I don't know about the mandolin but definitely his vocals!! I guess you need to be lucky to hear him practice it. So effortless and also does some moves whilst playing it. I will also be singing for the programme and eminent artists like Shri. Dakshinamoorthy Swamy and Shri. Soorya Krishnamoorthy are also going to grace the occasion with their presence. The 13th Gurupoornima Celebrations have it's origin in the gurukula style of education practised in ancient India.It is an occasion when the students display the entire skill mastered during that year from their Poojya Guruji.The day is believed to be of great significance for pupils of any discipline. The programme will be commencing at 9:30 AM and will conclude by 9 PM. Lunch and dinner will be provided there itself. So please do make it for the programme and fyi my khayal is in raag Bhairav which is a morning raaga and hence will be performing in the morning. Ramesh Narayanji himself will be doing a vocal concert and many of his senior students will also be rendering some exciting dhuns. I need all your best wishes and blessings :D

Vex Revolution

Regarding the incident that occurred yesterday near the Kerala ashramam,Mazhuthankuzhi. Totally appalling! Can't believe what man has made of man ! The gangsters could'nt recheck before killing the guy or what? And the matter cannot even be resuscitated. What a shame! I always assumed that before they are on their mission, they are given atleast a hint or even proofs of the victim's structure, features..but the gangsters just have it their way. Like in RDB hope people fight for justice, it's high time we rejuvenate humanity that is now fatal. The sound that echoes often ,the sound that is ignored, the voice that is never heard, the vexatious heartbeats that delay a proficient mindset... the voice of humanity...

*RIP sire*

"Smelly cat smelly cat
What are they feeding you?
Smelly cat smeeeeeeelly cat
It's not your fault!!"

Smelly Cat's Courtesy: Friends

Who cares?? (I do...)

My dad had to renew his license which he was granted in Trissur a couple of years ago. As we are now in Trivandrum, he thought of getting it renewed. I grabbed this oppurtunity to get my license too as I had already given my learners test. As told by my friend once the license is not taken within six months of the learners then we will have to renew it by paying a fine. So I told my driving school instructor that I would 'like' to take my driving test in the coming week after renewing my learners. Everytime my car gets into the main road I feel like I am being roasted above a fire pot by hungry tribals. I mean a situation almost equivalent to that. You don't know if your ever going to return back home with all sense organs in place. But I have to be courageous. And hence I thought of taking the license.. the driving can always be done later...Much to my surprise, a 'new rule' has been invented i.e. once a person does not take his license test within the given time then the learners cannot be renewed, but will have to be take it again. That means a whole lot of mugging up of all those rules and blah blah. I am done. Totally. I don't care if my prestige or status is gone as low as that of a pig .Whatsoever. I don't care if people are going to make fun of me saying 'hey !I've got a license how come you don't scarypoo'. All I care is of my life and the one day I can probably save by not wasting it studying..sorry..mugging up some traffic rules that are meant to secure my life for God knows how many days. *SIGH* I am a loser with a capital L :(

Cookin' it up

The last two days have been quite groggy and sullen cos of my sis's operation. I got off my morning classes and rushed to a flower shop in Palayam to get some fresh flowers for my sick girl. Got a dozen red roses and was on my way to the hospital. Dad picked me up and we lunched together at some place where I had nearly lost my appetite. But it is way too boring to be emphasized on for an exciting evening I was looking forward to. Grabbed the roses and got an 'red carpet' entry at KIMS *tee hee*... ok ok... not with cameras and snapshots and fans with their autograph books but yes with an hospital entrance which had a red colour carpet :) I entered room 530 only to realize that she is in the Surgery ICU. During the visiting hours ,dad was the only person allowed to see her after which mom was also given her turn. So since the point was clear dad dropped me back and I thought of trying my hand in cooking. I don't know if I have imbibed culinary skills, if any from my kith and kin but I looooove cooking. I made dosas. Not just a dosa but one shaped like a teddy bear and another one like a turtle. Mom used to make it that way so that I eat it for the sake of the shape. I was quite fussy back then. So recollecting some of those maida designs ,I switched on the gas and god knows what happened after that but thankfully something similiar to a teddy bear was produced. The more I made ,the better it shaped and the more it burnt. Not good at balancing things. Toooooo much to concentrate! Shape, thickness, texture, whether well cooked... too many. Just too many. Somehow my niece and nephew managed to gulp it down and infact asked for more :D We ended the cooking session with double omelettes and lime juices. Oh to add more fun to all this we had it in the presence of an emergency light cos of no current. Oh! and I burnt...not exactly.. kind of burnt my index finger thrice at the same spot. Now that's something only I can accomplish. And my aunt who I guess was enlightening the dark night with her jokes ,was saying something about starting a thattukada somewhere near and I could make animal shaped dosas and my cousin could do the omelettes and the rest could do blah blah.. Ok...tomorrow is strike and I need to reach the hospital by 4:30 am soo... ZZzzzzzzzzz

Have uploaded MINSARAKANNA in my Video Blog...do Check it out HERE.

Rude reality?

I saw a coverage which said about how rude a reality show can get on Headlines Today. The girl didn't dance well and the panel of judges had a list of gruesome words for her. And now she is suffering from Adam's. I feel some people go into depression cos they are never prepared to face the bed of thorns. You can't completely blame the judges for it. To some extent they also do get annoyed with baseless performances. Especially when it's a show that scrutinizes and shortlists the best of bests, to see some shake a bad leg is a punishment for the eyes. If she would have failed an interview ,she would have definitely gone into depression. I mean participants should definitely be prepared to face anything when they are entering showbiz. When you are in a competition where you think it's the path that could lead to death ,you should keep doors open for another chance incase someone pulls you down to earth for another chance to live i.e. if you're sure it is a 'could' and not 'would. I've always felt that apart from giving a grand stage and the oppurtunity of performing in front of eminent celebs ,reality shows shapes up a dream at the outset and then gives it colour. When one is ready to live it ...it fades away like thick fog taking all the colour from it.
I read a very funny piece of article which wrote about how grumpy a news channel can get on it's way to increase it's TRP rating! The best one was the one with CNN IBN (I think) showing that the khukri cannot be flushed even at the 10th try and practically demonstrated it on the screen (Khukri is the weapon that was used to kill Aarushi Talwar- in reference to the Noida Aarushi Talwar case). And the one that said " *breaking news*.. no clues found yet! on ____ murder case". The breaking news is that we never found any clues !!! Hehehe...for a change I liked the whole sham of the creators of obnoxious enigma.

Kanavupol

I am quite impressed with this new album I got hear the other day. Maybe in May or something. Why am I blogging about this now?? Because the Music Director of Kanavupol has started blogging! He has started his audio blog giving an introduction about his album and work experience. I know this post isn't a commemoration but it sure is a promotion tag. It's quite occult and has a latitude of the best singers the industry has ever produced. Manjari, Jassie Gift, Karthik, Anitha, Vidhu Prathap, etc are some who have lent their voices to this mystic work. Do give it an ear and I promise you that it's a true entertainer. Check Kanavupol here at http://www.kanavupol.blogspot.com/

You can contact Mr. Sajan at saajarishi@gmail.com

Thanks guys and keep yourselves tuned :)

Water water nowhere.....when will the drops be there??

It hasn't rained even once after I came back from Trissur. My cousin said that if it doesn't rain at all then water in the well would last only for six more days and after that maybe the Water authorities would imply rules like one hour of water flow for all per day in order to enforce conservation of water. It's kind of scary cos I really haven't been through a situation like this before, whilst in Muscat. It's like a world of luxury there. You hardly see villas, or even single rooms without and a/c and 24/7 water supply. Everyone out there have cars ,probably few bachelors who are new to the place use the cabs. And traffic is always controlled. Excellent traffic rules and well maintained roads and life was okey dockey, I tell you. But this is India. You know our main problem is that we are not rich. Just like how Chetan Bhagat said in One night @ a call centre. I am obsessed with his books nowadays. I am on my way to read his next. It's nice to see that directors are liking stories written by Indian authors than taking a regular Sheldon.

My Video blog is ready... and will be posting a very good video in two days time. If you liked the name you can give all credits to Vikas who must have not broken his head this way even during his entrance exams. Thanks Viks... and check VodCast HERE.

Enthithra Sandeham - A Teleserial song

I had recorded this one last year. I had gone there for another recording and Mr. Ronny liked my voice and asked me to sing some swaras for a musical piece he had composed for Paithrigam. After that he called me to sing for a Teleserial. I was quite excited. It is a sad song and falls under Christian Devotional genre. So please listen to it and give me feedback. Listen to it HERE.

I have decided to start a video blog and tranfer all the videos in there. Thanks for all the suggestions and support.

:(

If there is one thing I would like to change in me it would be my teeth. I hate them. I used to want to kill them five years back. But then the mettallic wire strapped on to my teeth then had brought peace in my dental home. The day I got them off I was so proud of them. It was like a freedom struggle to achieve the best smile. You would understand my emotions if you would have seen me then. I heard 2 teeth growing in the lower half. And one in the front of the upper half and the middle tooth of the upper half was all set to march ahead. Since I used to be a hardcore dancer then, everyone called it cute. They said I look like Manju Warrier. I mean whatever. I hated it. People always do that for consolation. Anyways with braces off life was happy. Until.... the middle one of my upper half started to march forward again. Why? Why does it want to lead when the master hasn't asked for it. These are those types who act smart and want to show off. And cos of this attitude my smile is again ruined. Have any of you ever faced this?? Like you took the trouble of taking off gum from your braces despite all the anger just cos you wanted your smile to be like Madhuri Dixit's. And you had to avoid pizzas and McDs to avoid pressure over some stupid mettallic wires that decide your looks to some extent. Urrghhh.... now I need to visit the dentist all over again to fix this. Unfair and my teeth is going to pay for it someday. *gloooooooooooooooooooooom*

Aapki Nazaron ne Samjha has been uploaded after a lot requests. Check it out here.I had been to a wedding yesterday in Trissur and since I hail from the place I love the traditional cuisine. Infact a survey held on the best traditional food in Kerala, the place won it.I think Cochin was included as it shares the same kind of style. The best is the payasam, 3 kinds. And though I am an ex NRI and have not eaten a lot of traditional stuff in the traditional way and been to the big weddings and blah blah blah blah blah... I LOVE having the payasam in the banana leaf aka *ela* which a lot of "non NRIs don't know of". I hate the whole assumption of NRIs don't know this and that and they are just a bunch of show offs who try to rub off their desi culture and bring in a lot of foriegn goods and are fussy about using local stuff. I mean woteva! It's so untrue...and that's not the way we are. Infact the moment I meet some localites ,there are some who speak in a 'put on' engilsh accent and despite my replies in my mother tongue they never seem to get rid off their angrejji. Sometimes I feel people should be their selves first and must accept that we are normal people like them who can eat with hands and can smell with a nose. Anyhow the wedding was a small and a cute one and got to meet up with a lot of 'ol friends. After the Big Fat Malu wedding we went back to Trivandrum and surprisingly there aren't any rains here. I love travelling by the 4:15 bus coz then you get to see Cochin in the lights. It's as though they celebrate everyday. Have never seen so much of lights and enthusiasm in any other place in Kerala except for a special festival like Onam or something. The place is so tempting that everytime I pass the branded stores there is this urge to break the window and jump out to get some real shopping done. Yeps, I am maaad about clothes-shopping. I hate shopping anything else. But clother be it indian or traditional..it's just my thing. Usually by eight or so the bus stops at a hotel where the people always serve the passengers. But this time we went to different one. More like a 'thattukada'. I've always fancied eating there since a child. And I must say, that's one thing we NRIs never got to do :)

Today we had a lunch party at my neighbour's place as an acknowledgement of the fixation of his marriage. I went there only for lunch (food factor always works) and my favourite was the 'ada payasam'. Apparently in traditional Trivandrum food 'semiya payasam' is always served on top of the Boli. My mom had taught me the Hindi name i.e. puran poli (or something like that) since she spent major part of her life in Bombay. I don't like the taste of that dish nor do I like to have it with the payasam. But in Trivandrum weddings if the payasam is served without the Boli then the sadya is termed as a 'bad' one. Once I and dad had flied to Chennai through Kingfishers and they give this menu card for a choice of the snack we want. Now I saw these weird names and asked my dad if he really wanted to have. Now my dad is a terrible foody and sticks to his all time favourtie *mummy ka khana*. But I didn't want to miss it so thought of ordering the chicken one. When the snack was served, actually it's not right to call it a snack ,it was some kind of a 'mid dinner' (as the flight was in the evening). The had noodles and chocolate truffle (desert) and the starters was chat stuff. Batata Vada if I am not wrong. In the menu it was given this long weird name something starting with a T. It took the chef (perhaps) three long words to describe our very own Mumbai ki chat...arre apna ghar ka khana. But it's an art to translate all these names to English though I didn't get a word of it. Anyways, the food was great and so was the truffle. You never know how time goes in a short domestic flight but in the international ones ,one can die of boredom. When I was younger we used to fly to Mumbai first and then to Kerala. So for the former we used to fly by Gulf Airways and I used to love that airlines only coz they had a screen and used to even distribute toys to small kids like me. Maybe it's their job to give those toys off cos I never even had to give them the cute smile. After that in tenth I couldn't take my days off during summer hols cos I am in 10th !!!! Something parents and teachers used to consider as big as the World war where a soldier better fight through or else it's goli maar bheje mein. Thankfully my math tuition sir said I could take two weeks off cos I am progressing well :) Math runs in my family blood. And that is the right reason for the good scoring in my boards only for math. That was the only subject where I scored above 90. A 96 to be precise. And I boast about it even today cos earlier I was compared to my sister as she had topped the board for scoring the highest in maths at that time. So it was an 'obvious' assumption that I had to lead the family tradition as though it's like carrying the olympic torch or something. So with my musical shows and basky and whatnot I was quite adamant about scoring somewhere near sis. For the sake of my prestige. Since then math is my most favourite subject. Honestly, it is. I don't have the brains for an invention or for mugging up raaga names. Am not too spontaneous on answering the name of the raaga for any given song. But math....I am good at it.I guess it's cos it runs in the family and maybe I am the first one to initiate a musical background at the Vattappillys. But I hate physics. From the bottom of my heart I never found even a tinge of connectivity of the subject with math. I mean V= IR or whatever never seemed to do anything with math except for the ODMAS. But if you see that way then everything is math's sibling. Like in geography we have graphs represented by numbers that too decimals! Enough of bragging. I have this tendency of deviating from the topic everytime. Can never keep it succinct unless it demands. I actually wanted to say that that year I didn't fly to Bombay and had to fly through an other airlines and it totally sucked. I mean no screens, no toys (I know I was 15 then, and a big girl..but still) and horrible food. After that flying was so boring that I wish I could be a superwoman or something to just click on some gadget attached to my wrist and say hooolaaa..and whoosh I reach the destination. But this time I flew though Jet Airways...great food, single screens, and the best of all.... ok never mind ,I cannot mention such things in blog :P My best friend calls me a radio FYI. And therefore it's the no. (___) FM station in the blog world {the ___ can be filled with an appropriate number between 1 and 2, no decimals allowed as per rules}....... *Stay tuned* :D

Guruvayur Concert

Can you believe?? A strike !! I thought I wouldn't be able to make it but the Police force said that it is safe for private vehicles to move around after afternoon. So started by three thirty and reached there like in 45 minutes. We were expecting less crowd as it was strike but much to our surprise we had to wait in the queue for around an hour. The nada which usually opens at four thirty opened at five twenty today coz of the shiveli. Love elephants. Especially baby ones..I wish I could own one some day. The long hours of wait and complaining is finally put to an end when you witness the Guruvayurappan idol. Once we got out I was listening to some kiddies who were singing their lungs out. Children are so innocent. It's sweet to hear them and also reminded me of my young times. Oh my God! I am talking as though I am already 50.... well it feels that way .. going to turn 19.... my last teen year :( Anyways I was sitting backstage when I noticed a lot of commotion going on right outside the place. Didn't bother giving it an ear so I didn't know what the matter was. But later it got quite serious as in the people who were fighting brought their instruments and other materials inside. As though it was their turn next. That's when I got to hear the whole problem. Actually these guys had booked the 6:30 slot and so had we. But the committee people didn't make a note of the former one and hence the commotion.I was suppose to perform after the girl who was singing then and the time was already past 6:30. Then my guru and the other guys had a major discussion for five minutes or so. And I was asked to cut down my 1 1/2 hours katcheri to 45 minutes. I chose to sing Vatapi Ganapathim, Bhavayami, Elara Krishna and few bhajans ending it with a thillana in Bhupalam. The point was performing at Melpathur. As far as that is fullfilled I am least bothered about what others want to do or say.

I thought of starting a Video blog. As in so far I put all my videos in Surmitr. Thoguht of seperating it. I guess it will be more convenient. It won't be updated that soon... cos I hardly take videos of my concerts... but with whatever present I will commence. Suggestions needed!

Surmitr Updates

My audio blog, Surmitr was hibernating for a while due to problems with my converter. But thanks to Fani Kalyan, I could update songs to my blog .One is Satya Soundaryame. You can listen to it HERE. It's a prayer song I have sung for various shows. Actually I choose this song as my prayer song everytime coz it's secular in nature. Doesn't praise any lord or religion in particular and therefore doesn't show any kind of partiality to any religious force.It commences in Sahana raagam and ends in Surruti. I had recorded this prayer in Denny uncle's studio in Muscat for a purpose which was nullified due to technical issues. But this one is really special to my heart and that's why I had to pester Denny uncle to get me a copy of this track. Do give it an ear and expecting positive feedback.

Catching up on some old stuff

Busy with some preparations for the Guruvayur Katcheri, I am also trying to catch up on some reading and painting. I read Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat. A must read. Quite funny and for a change it's something not too technical though the background is .You get to read a lot of indian terms like 'paranthas' which made my mouth water. It's almost 4 years old but I could read it only now. Now I am onto his second book - A Night at the Call centre. Apparently they are going to make a movie out of the two.At some places I felt he writes like me :D...see now that shows I've got good sense of humour (Actually I am confident that Chetan is not going to read this). Good going Chetan!

I was just picking some stuff from Big Bazar and finally I got what I was searching for since ages.A Painting book. I am just an amateur in this and thought of starting with small painting books where I can learn how to paint within the given borders. The first one was my niece's book. I actually promised to teach her how to paint but finally ended up teaching myself. I was so engrossed that I got restless when the book got over and had nothing to paint on. I went to many stores but they all had only colouring books or blank ones for us to draw our creations. But finally this time I got this Hanuman Paint book where they have pictures of the cartoon 'Return of Hanuman' for tracing and then painting. Got some brand new paint and will start whenever time permits. I feel like a baby now. And I am totally not ashamed of writing this :) As for my photography, I left my camera in my sister's bag and now it's in B'lore. So I guess the photos which I will take from here on will lack quality coz I'll be taking it with my N73. I forgot to watch my 'Food for thought' on News X. Sheesh! My first talk about Food on TV and I missed it :( :( :(

BTW the Guruvayur katcheri is on the 20th .My slot will begin by 6 p.m. So if you are around ,do make it.

DXB?

It is frustrating to memorize silly abbreviations for small words. I was chatting with my friend and she was telling me that her boyfriend is in DXB now. I was like what is dxb? Can't think of any place that has a 'd', 'x' and a 'b' in it's name. DXB is apparently the short form of Dubai. Since I had to ask her which place she meant by that silly abbreviation she typed... she was amazed that I did'nt know that. It's totally meaningless and doesn't make any sense to me. I don't know why the creator made such an abbreviation. There was a time when I didn't know what 'lol' was. It's apparently 'uncool' to not use this lang especially when your in a cool party with the hunks gaping at you. Wotevaaa...... who am I to say!.. I am no one to comment on the World of Web Lang.

Buddha's footage by News X

Me, mom and Nish were lunching at Buddhas after some hardcore shopping. We go there only for the Tofu which is seldom found in Indo-Chino cuisine. I think they are found in B'lore but it's white in colour. This is the first Chinese outlet which I have seen that is Vegetarian. It serves food that is full of greens but surprisingly tastes like chicken. More like the soya chunks. We usually start of with the juices and Tofu and then onto the main course. Actually the Tofu we order is a 'chef's speciality' in the menu. Whilst all the hogging we noticed a little hustle bustle outside the restaurant. There were cameras being fixed with a short and stout man checking the mic. There were couple of others who were busy taking snaps from different angles .By then we had gone onto the deserts and I ordered a Mango mousse cake and sis ordered a Date pancake. When I savoured my first bite of the desert I realised that the cake was decorated with ice cream and not cream icing. Since I have stopped ice creams due to personal reasons, I exchanged my desert with my sis and continued with our business.

Meanwhile the media people entered the restaurant and was doing some kind of an enquiry with the main guy there. After which we were asked if we could lend a few words about this place. As we agreed ,cameras were focussed and sis was asked to do the talking first. Later I was asked and I told that I luuuuuuv the food out here and it's a good way of letting the Vegetarians know what Non-veg is like.BTW me a non-veg :) Then mom was asked on the usual cooking stuff and that she is the best person to judge such things where she is the master. This was covered by News X which is a 24/7 news channel. It's subordinate channels are 9X (for music) and some other for sports. It should be telecasted tomorrow by 3 p.m. or so. The news is available in ACV too. So do check out. I don't exactly know what's it all about but it should be a part of the entertainment plus wherein they do a small footage on the food outlets here. The channel is actually from Calcutta. So hopefully I shall be seen on the 'idiot box' for a different reason tomorrow..at Humpty dumpty THREE. Ciaaaaaaaaaaaaao

Protest!!!!

Sprite has Buffalo semen inserted during it's manufacture which makes it colourless and more tasty. Save yourself!!! Please spread this piece of healthy news and unite together to stop it's sale. A request from a true blogger. For more details read HERE


P.S. Source of Information : Vikas

A kuku from the woods...

Saint Chinmayananda said that once a boy came to seek his blessings and according to Indian customs he was going to touch his feet. Just when the Saint said that "by the boy touching my feet, only one thing is going to happen. My hands are going to become oily after touching his hair through my blessings." When you are a celebrity you have to follow all the customs and traditions of calling a senior by his work and age , 'ji' and by touching their feet. Especially one's guru is to be given utmost care at any occassion. Everything from the guru's arrival to his food choices to his departure in a function is to be given primary importance. Infact I am asked to eat and rest only after these duties are carried over accurately. But more than anything I believe respect should come from within. I've seen many who do these things for being impressive or to be diplomatic or for the sake of being a some one. But what's the point when it doesn't reach out from the heart. I hate being diplomatic but many a times I have to for making sure I don't hurt anyone's feelings. Since I have now learnt to be a diplomat I can easily find out those who behave the same with me. It irritates me. But that's the rule of the society. The society which is me and you and the society which me an you are scared of. You can't always be yourself. The other day I was boasting about how good a singer I am to my cousin brother and he said I am just over doing it. I can't obviously walk around telling how good I am ...atleast I deserve the freedom of expressing my thoughts on my singing to my dear ones. When can I show off? Or am I suppose to be ignorant on how good I can sing. I am stressing on 'good' only coz there are millions out there waiting to catch on one tiny weeny mistake. On the other hand there are people who go on bragging and bragging on how good I am. It crosses the limits of dishonesty. Fake. Ah ... but who am I to comment? Me just a small little kuku struggling somewhere in the woods where darkness befalls forever and a ray of hope for a glimpse of the sun's rays clings onto my mind. A hope that is like the setting sun which never extinguishes but is only clouded.

102 nd Post

Yup it's past a century!! Chennai traffic is terrible. The long wait...the wait for the end..which never seems to happen. Didn't get to see much of the place apart from a lot traffic and pollution. Went to two great temples ,one an Ayappan kovil and another of his father. I had so many dosas and idlis that I am now into some kind of a juice diet. Not to shed kilos but to drown that uduppi taste from my tongue. Getting a loooot of miscalls nowdays, special thanks to Vikas :) Another one :listen to gum sum from Ada ...refreshing, distinct. Totally love the rains..was waiting for them.

With the A.R.Rahman's Ada contest on, one blog friend Kumar remixed KMT which I had uploaded in Surmitr. Do give an ear to the remixed version. Suggestions invited ...

Coffee at M.G. Road , Ada

Have to really catch up with some photography. For the past few weeks I have only been uploading my concert pics. I'll be going to Chennai tomorrow for a couple of days and shall hopefully get some good snaps. Blogging will be taking a backseat as for now. Finished listening to JTYJN....I must say , Rahman sir has his way with his voice. Quite dishy! And the much talked about Ada also has a lot of sufi to offer. Parul Mishra ,another 'pepsi can' picked up from trash has rendered Ishq Ada so well. Listening to our very own Jayachandran sir sing Milo Wahan Wahan got the goosebumps back. The last time I had goosebums while listening to Jayachandran sir singing was when he sang Nenjil jil jil in KMT. Hardly two lines but whattaa voice!! Alka Yagnik was one voice I always tried immitating as a child. But somehow she was just gone for a looong time and with her re-entry in Ada looks like the lost world is back. I can never forget the first time I sang with him Kanil kanil on stage . Good eye sight. He was pretty confident of his eyes with that book he held which was as big as maybe thumbellina's pillow!

Another one is Coffee at M.G. Road by Vineeth Srinivasan. The shy, timid and suttle natured lad. Surprisingly whenever a 'star' doesn't mix up or mingle with the common public during a concert or for rehearsals, people in a very convenient way term it as 'head weight'. Irrelevant of whether he/she is an introvert, reserved or even dumb !! But with Vineeth , it was not that way. When he came for our Rajanigandha, 2007 show he was obviously shy and an introvert. But people just liked him . He had this very stange and natural way of impressing them. During the concert he had mentioned about making this big album for which he was doing concerts to enhance the production of that album. But no one had a clue about how big it was going to be. Especially after Malayalee, expections had risen conspicuously. And he has kept his word. As of now I am still listening to Kabhi Kabhi Aditi and hey! that's my caller tune too!! I got almost contemptous calls regarding my previous caller tune 'No woman no cry' which I 'by mistakely' had set it due to an involuntary action performed by my fingers by pressing the * . It got copied and my life became hell. Solutions like taking it off never worked coz of my lethargic nature and ofcourse some unavoidable work. Anyhow now it better be better than heaven with this new caller tune. Adios amigooooo.

Rajanigandha, 2008 Snaps

After a long time i know! You can see them here. And catch up with the writing here.

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

LOVED IT TO THE CORE ! Kabhi Kabhi Aditi...lovely guitar by Rashid and Sanjeev and singing is awesome .There is so much of rawness and a tinge of something imperfect that makes it even more natural and precise. Yet another talent discovered by A.R.Rahman. He just knows how to pick the pepsi can from the trash :) I wish to be that can someday! Have just listened to this one song as of now. Will listen to the rest and update. till then.....................CU MIU PIU TIU :P

My sister...

Once Nish starting working life became different. Getting used to not fighting with her and watching a movie without here, eating pizzas without her and faking a laugh at slapstick comedy in her absence are some of the worst and compelled things I had to go through. But I never missed her. We miss people we forget. She used to comeover for Onam, X'mas and Vishu. And we never got along when we used to live together, even if it was for a couple of days. I want my things to be put back from where they are taken. And she hardly cares. Not deliberately. She does that with her things too. So we kept quarrelling and having verbal fights. Verbal to the extent of calling each other donkey, monkey, ox, buffalo and would multiply into infinite times. People used to look at us as though we are doing the circus. We could fight just anywhere. At the middle of a shopping mall, at an restaurant, at home (obviously), at a friend's place and even at a party. 24/7 she kept bragging about her work at Infosys and her badge which peobably was a proof that she worked there. And oh sorry! there's an error that I made here. She would go yapping about not her work but the canteens (which owe 50% of the profits to her ) and the romantic storied that commenced from the green plains of Infy. But the day she used to leave to get back to work, I was totally irritated. Maybe coz I couldn't get sleep without abusing her atleast once a day. Old habits die hard. Today she called and told me she had fever. She asked me to put her to sleep. She is a fragile girl. Emotional and has mastered the art of crying crocodile tears. She fakes it half the time. She can just get anyone to fall for it. And she is good. Coz she got a hard hearted person like me to fall for it several times. I sang for her maa from TZP then Thode Badmash from Saawariya and Yu Saja Chand, a Ghulam Ali ghazal. She still didn't fall asleep coz the sing-in-phone-in session was interrupted by a stupid caller. All I want to convey is ~I Luv u Nisha~.

It has been raining off and on out here. And it's wonderful. Sitting at home is the worst thing to do after exams. I have no clue what to do...My painting book also got over and I have nothing to paint now. Nor do I have any books to read. Coz I didn't bother getting any books from duty free coz of my great camel shopping. So was glued to T.V. last night. Surprisingly I didn't know much about Aarushi murder case coz that was the time I was busy with the Rajanigandha show. Later on when I noticed all the commotion created I realised it must be something huge. A day before leaving for India, my parents had to attend a farewell party and the renowned topic of the night was this. It seems too sad. But what's exactly with the case? It still confuses me. It is the mom or the dad that was having an affair? As of now I think the dad is arrested and taken to some place that is obscure.

There are hardly any good movies to watch. I was watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S again and again, the 10th season that is. Too good. That's what I call comedy. Friends reminds me of this article I read in the newspaper yesterday. It was written on the English spoken by British children. They are so bad at spellings..some still get confused while spelling friends, embarrassed, accommodation, relief, etc. Apparently the reason for such a botch is coz of the lack of attention the syllabus gives to grammer and communicative English. And the sudden rise in the application of the e-lang and the sms libi has definitely made it more convenient to make grammatical errors. The usage of 'u' instead of 'you' and 'gr8' instead of 'great' had made written language a lot more unscrupulous. Nay, that's too harsh. Maybe a little daffy, insignificant and obstinate.

I got to see some blog rating at g-man's . So checked mine and got some clean ratings. All my three blogs are rated

:) You can also check your's HERE.

Examsssss overrrr !!

Done with all of them. Now I am a second year. Hopefully shall retain that qualification after getting my results too :D Right now I am trying to think for a suitable name for baby and dada camel. I am thinking of an Arabic name since I got it from ~Arabia~ . Usually during the Muscat Festival we get to hear sooo much of Turkish music. All of similiar kinds with excessive beats. You feel like doing Shakira right there. And for food we usually never go into the Indian side and instead dig into some shormas and tandoori stuff. My god they are heaven!!! You need to handle them correctly as they serve the chicken pieces like marshmallows. And you need to dip them in the garlic paste for the Arabic touch. Life was fun. This time also when I had gone to Oman, we went to this Turkish food outlet called Istanbulli. And you get amazing shormas there. Sadly I am not a hardcore meat eater nor am I fond of sea food so didn't try out the mixed bowl which contains all kinds of meat (almost) and sea food. Although it looked delicious. We ended the session with a glass laban. Laban is one of the most famous and favourite non-alcoholic drink. Some sort of sweet and sour butter milk. It's not as sweet as lassi nor as salty as lime soda. But it's unique.

Most of the people in India think that Arabic food is at it's best in meat. But that's so not true. The Kargeen Cafe is again an Arabic food eatout where we had a ladies night out. We had only vegetarian food coz apparently most of the chicken had a tinge of meat flavour. So to be on the safer sides ,we sticked to breads in baked style. There was this one girl from our group who had Pinnacoloda which is Pineapple mixed with coconut water served inside the coconut shell. I ordered my usual mocha. For desert we had brownie which was amazingly big, mouth watering and too filling ! Eventually I left it half way unable to reach my target. The ambience of the place is also good. It has a roof made of wood which as cross shaped giving space for the sunlight and the moon. They don't have a concrete base, it's hard rock with carpets layed on them. And we are seated on chairs made from bamboo.. or sofa's with embellished covers which have typical Arabic work done on them. You can even do Sheesha in various flavours. A man sitting on the table next to mine was smelling of grape. I really didn't know that Sheesha /hooka had so many flavours including strawberry and vanilla ! I never tried one, not coz I never got a chance to but cos I saw my friend doing it and she got choked. So no playing around with my voice :)

Another place I luv is the Starbucks right across the Shatti beach. Sunset there is too good. Most of the time we used to celebrate there. After exam parties or break-from-study-parties and even Birthday parties. Though most of the Birthday parties used to be celebrated in Pizza Hut or Mc D. Since I had a lot of spicy masala type food this time (was making the most out of it). I am craving for idiappams and dosas and istu. The mixer had to go off at the right time knowing that I am coming for some food which requires grinding. So for two more days will have to do with 2 minutes maggieeeee... That's making me hungry..ok catch ya after maggieee-fyinggg

Back Home

Finally.... did some serious duty free shopping!! And don't laugh , I know I am still a teen and way old for all these things...I got a soft toy.. a CAMEL !! Baby camel and daddy camel. By the time mummy camel came it was way too pricy!! and it had worn pink lipstick (yuck). So I thought I'll nurture the toy and be it's mummy. So I am big time name-hunting for both the toy camels. Any brilliant ideas??? Please do drop in... coz I really need them. From quite a young age I was fascinated and excited about naming my toys. Not all of them literally but I used to get so many kinds of dolls. Some were bald headed and some I got as a set with the mirror, hairbrush and even a makeup set. I never liked changing names of dolls who already had a name inscribed inside the cover. The only problem was two or three of them would be similiar cos most of them had names like Sally, Polly, Solly, Sarah. I used to even take care of my doll's hair more than mine. Till date :) Serious naming happened when I got my first pet, my 17th birthday gift, a fish! I named it Bangudai which means blue pearl, I think, in Chinese *giggle*.It was blue in colour and a fighter like me. Such fishes are usually isolated coz they can't live without quarelling physically, I guess. And when it died on Feb 27th, I was too scared to even look at it. Aaaaahh.....I am giving my self some time to still recover from that tragedy. So the end of the story is that I got the camel soft toy cos I was brought up in a desert and felt that it is my duty to get something that represents a desert and hence *tan ta daaa* the camel. So please suggest some cute names.

Since dad is quitting after his 28 years of service we had to cancel off our family visa and resident cards. It felt as though a baby is cutting it's ambilical chord from that of it's mother. But here I am not potraying the freedom the baby gets out of that , it's the detachment it goes through after having survived nine months in the stomach which gave it routes, breathed in life ,circulated the blood and got it prepared for the big battle to venture life with it's first cry. The pain of leaving that warmth, that secured feeling, that 'apartment' !! That's exactly how I felt when the counter guy was cancelling things on his system and he just threw my resident card away. Now if I ever go back it will be as a guest not as a home person *sigh*

The flight was good after all Jet Airways has just started it's fly to Cochin recently. Watched Aaja Nachle and the 'coconut flavoured sweet with a mango tinge' a.k.a. parippu payasam was bad!! While landing we were going through unfavourable weather conditions and alerted us to put on our seat belts. As I shelved up the window board we were flying right through the clouds. Clouds were looking like a cotton candy. Everytime we get into a biiig cloud the whole plane would start shaking. As we neared the land the whole journey from the white cotton candies to the lagoons.. WHATTAA SIGHT !! I started of seeing bald mountains and sandy deserts and landed seeing green cultivation. What a transformation! One cultivation was even shaped like an 'WA'...not a W and an A but something like a V and another V that makes a W and curves down to to make an A. It even had the line between the two lines that form an A. Now that's beautiful nature !

After landing ,our driver took us to Trivandrum straight where I was trying to prepare for my English exam- Novel and communicative English. So much for street lights!! I thought I would crash as soon as I reach home but Brunie's barking woke me up from my dreamy world and there I went off like a non stop radio till twelve or so. With a lot of compulsion and pleading they changed my FM Station to off mode and there I was sleeping like a baby.

Exam was good today except for the Phonetics. I guess I created my own symbols *lol* Next is Sanskrit, on 29th. Abhigyana Shakuntalam and Keralodayam. From the luring tales of the sparkling romance between King Dushyanth and Shakuntala to the manliness of Parasuramam. I have no clue how I am going to finish learning the foursectioned drama and the Mahakavyam of 1oo slokas. So until next post 'Jai Sanskrit!'

I got blasted by Nital for not meeting any of them who are on a vacation here. Everday I meet a couple of them online and I keep arguing about why I can't meet them cos of my rehearsal schedule and shopping and dinners ,etc. But yesterday she lost it. She was yelling at me. I don't care, I don't call, I don't want to meet any of them, I'm lazy and blah blah. So finally I decided if it's not now then never. Called them over though they could hardly spend 60 minutes ,it was worth it. We all were sharing our ragging experiences. And Kami was more interested about what kind of subjects they teach for my music course. There is an alumini party in school on the 1st of June but sadly won't be able to make it cos I'll be in God's own country tomorrow. Not even in a mood to study. God knows what am I going to pen down for my English and Sanskrit exam. I wish I were in school. Maybe kindergarden. Just finished the packing and if my exams weren't advanced then I would be coming with dad a week later. A week is like ages. So much more get togethers, more shopping, more singing, and more of sight seeing. But destiny is rather mean to me. I am not a shopaholic. I can spend time on getting clothes but otherwise I am extremely impatient. But I love talking. Talking about anythings and that's why I love holding get togethers and meetings. Not a party person so prefer small parties of suttle nature. More of food and talking. Sheeeeesh I am just going to miss everything all over again. Oh ya... the Gonu rumours are just rumours according to today's edition. Me of to some last minute packing and some serious sleep cos I'll be travelling all day long. From Muscat to Cochin and then to Trivandrum .

As of now all *GLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

Pizza Hut party, Cyclone Gonu

The final closing party of the Rajanigandha team, 2008 was held at Pizza Hut, Qurum. I was the first one to reach with Johnson sir. Initially I had thought that the party would be held at the conference room which has been beautifully designed by the architect. But the party hall was opposite it. Much to my dismay we ventured the big hall and the first thing I asked them to do was to switch of two split A/Cs out of the four.Firstly, cos dad was unwell and secondly cos I couldn't sit with that kind of temperature. Before the Pizzas came we had a small lecture demonstration done by Johnson sir on falseto and fixing the swarasthanas in our mind. He has his way with the guitar. He was demonstrating it in Hamsadhwani ragam. Then he was quizzing us on various aspects of Music and even asked few of us to sing. When the pizzas arrived all were feasting their eyes as he was still explaining . But once the control was lost, there were shortage of pizzas and garlic bread. There were quite a few left overs and picked some of them for breakfast. All's well that end's well. And as we bid him a good bye it was farewell time for me as I will be air borne in a day. Exchanging some pj's and email ids I promised to meet up with them when they come over to India for their summer vacation. There ends the 2nd season of Rajanigandha, 2008.



Today did some minor last minute shopping. And it's time to say goodbye to my second home. I really couldn't take pics of the bald mountains cos I really didn't do any sight seeing. But someday I'll definately comeback and get some real desert pics and show you what the real Oman is all about i.e. if it is still there. There are rumours of another Cyclone Gonu attack on the 29th. Apparently temperature could rise upto 60 degree and a/c s would drip off and the petrol pumps could burst, and etc. Warnings will be given just like last year via mobile networks. Last time it was quite an experience and I am still surprised on being alive. Hopefully this place shouldn't get washed away as the rumours predict. To read more about last year's Cyclone Gonu effect check this POST and THIS from my blog.

Rajanigandha, 2008 Concert details

Concert pics available HERE.

Today's fortune: The luck that is ordained for you will be coveted by others.
So true. Though the show was delayed by 15 minutes the crowd was jam packed. The show commenced with the 8 singers lined with diyas lit. One by one with the prayer song satya soundaryme playing in the background, we lit the traditional lamp which is an unusual sight. Coz as far as I know in most of them it's the chief guest's duty to light the lamp. Then we had a string of short speeches and finally the show commenced. Mine was 5th in the song sequence list. And I was all excited coz my opening song would be with Srini sir. Brahmakamalam, Arivin nilave, Nila Kaygiradhu were the first few songs after which Srini sir sang Vennila thumbile. Then came Minsarakanna and we had a blast doing it together. He did a lot of extra fittings to the song that I was stunned and was probably left open mouthed. But the distinct part was the last three aalaps I had to do. The day before when I took him to check out the cornish he had asked me if I will be doing any songs with him and when I told him I would be dpoing this one, all he said was "Nityashree has sung it so well and it's a pretty hard one. Have you practiced?" All I could do was nod. So on stage when I gave my best shot I was hoping that he should think that I have done justice to the number. Which I understood when he acknowledged me as a fantastic singer :) The other songs were Rajahamsame, Manyu pole, Thumbi vaa, Barso re, Kanampoochi, Yeh ishq Hai, Ajab si, Pinayum pinayum, etc. Srini sir's best song was Kaisi hai yeh from Dil Chahta Hai. Johnson sir was the chief guest and so after he did the opening song he was relaxing in his couch. The concert was ended with Oh lalala . As planned portions of the song was distributed among the singers. And I was asked to do the hindi version of Maetachalayile (which is originally sung by Unni Menon). Srini sir took over from the second Manamadhura for which Johnson sir supported him with his guitar. After the finishing song he had to run off to catch his plane. So with a lot of thank yous and good byes he was gone. With him off Johnson sir was hogging all the limelight and boy! he can talk forever. He's quite a jovial person.

After all the photo session and talking we headed off straight to Restaurant Divine where the after-show party was organised. Was too tired to even eat but managed to get something into my growling tummy. Crashed when I saw the bed.

I was anxiously waiting for this day. As it was planned we reached the airport at 9. Waiting is a punishment. Sort of. I was suppose to greet Srini sir with a bouquet and another small girl was supposed to welcome Johnson sir. Initially it was exciting and when the waiting became longer and longer I was suggesting the lil girl some books of Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. Gulped down a whole bottle of water and still time ,the biggest villain just doesn't take the name of running fast. We actually heaved a sigh of relief when Srini sir called after landing to ask about where to get the visa and all that. After receiving we left them at their respective hotel rooms and there after met for lunch. Actually Srini sir was so hungry that he messaged dad saying he is hungry and wants to hog and then hit the sack. So we had to arrange things a lil earlier than scheduled and all of us had 'chettinad thali'.

Admist the lunch Johnson sir was telling how Malayalam music is still not used or is unknown to many. He was saying that in all reality shows most of the singers hardly sing malayalam. Al of them outstretch into other languages, mostly tamil and also ape for the west. Whereas the other regional reality shows always have sungs sung in their respective language. Johnson sir being the only National Award winner from Kerala for the Best Music Director in our state was also saying that the jury for the National Awards hardly cared about the South Indian Industry. And Malayalam was considered as a baby or rather a minor in the field. Whenever there is a Satyajit Ray film, it had to win a national award. That was the system and people were comfortable with it. Except for a few. Few became many in time. He has his side of humor too where in once he apparently considered the finger bowl to be a bowl of lemon juice and devoured it warm! He's devoid of fear, sharp, talkative and hardly cares about what people think of him.

He's shy, suttle, gives one a feeling of warmth, not too glamorous, diplomatic and a sincere musician. That's Srinivas for you. He was too hungry to even discuss. Infact when one of the media person came to get a video byte from him, he said 'Food first and then the rest'. After the big fat lunch we had we went onto ordering something not cold and tasty for desert. Majority opted out for gajar ka halwa and Srini sir jus obliged.He was explaining the terms 'minus track' and 'plus track'. On not knowing what the latter meant he said it means miming i.e. a track with the singing where the singer just has to mime. He was telling how disgusted he was with such practices. These are times when a singer is lost and doesn't exactly know what he wants.. money or justice to his talent. Savouring each bite of the extremely sweet carrot halwa we ended the lunch with a photo session. And everyone was off to catch some Zzzzzzzzzz.

After nap time Johnson sir was taken for his say in the video byte and Srini sir was bored so we took him to the cornish. He loved it... and the weather was pretty cool by evening. After some ghup shupping at the sea side we headed for the dinner party organised by one of the members of the Rajanigandha team. Had great fun and all the singers of tomorrow's show were asked to hum a few lines. Nervous as ever I sang one of my personal favourites Manjaladam. Then we had a small photo session with the mummys and daddys. We soon called of as we have to wake up pretty early for tomorrow's show. So I think I am gonna Zzzzzzzzz...

Rajanigandha, 2008

I will be performing at the Al Falaj on the 23rd. The show is named Rajnigandha. Last year we held a show by the same name which was illuminated by eminent artists like Shri. Arjunan, Shri. Vidyadharan, Shri Kallara Gopan and Vineeth Srinivas. We had held it on a non-profit basis and much to our surprise it turned out to be a super hit. Infact AlFalaj which accommodates around 1200 audience had to get in 100 chairs extra for the standing crowd in the auditorium. And they told us that such a show was never held in the last 10 years of the history of the hotel.

This year it's something different and better. We will be getting National award winner Johnson and State award winner Srinivas. Srinivas sir will be singing a couple of solos and duets. This year also it is being held on a non-profit basis. And entry is only pass. Actually this show is being organised by the parents of the children taking part in the show. Some are not even working for the children but for the success of the show. Hopefully this one should go well. The show begins at 6:30 and should go on non-stop for 3 hours. We have a mix of old and new numbers in different languages. So if any of you are in Muscat do try to make it for the show! For the rest... pray for meee :D



No prizes for guessing where I am :)

Solution to 'Orkut help' post

Finally! The Orkut.org was kind enough to send me details as to why my profile is not showing my blog links. They said that it could be due to someone reporting my link as spam .Another reason could be that I scrapped my blog links. I really can't recollect scrapping my links to strangers and why would someone report it as spam?? unless...they are green with envy...green with a capital G :D ... Anyhow they suggested that one way to sort it out is by listing your link without a www and http://. If it still doesn't work then contact them HERE.

Muscat Idol, 2008 ~ Teen Sensation

Was a pretty fun day. I was one of the finalists of Muscat Idol, 2006 and had the privilege of being judged by Anandji of the Kalyanji-Anadji duo and Bala Bhrambhatt ji. Though I didn't win I did get a lot of recognition and appreciation as I was the youngest among the 12 Indians. The oldest would be somewhere 40 plus. The practice sessions, the photoshoots, the discussions, I used to eagerly wait to go to Mr. Dalal's house for anything to do with this. Though he is a doctor by proffession his passion for music is exotic. He is so hardworking and honest ,wo din bhi kya din the !The 2006 was the one for seniors and Mr. Shekhar had won it. We even had a mini bus where in our digi photos were put across a poster that covered the whole bus. And my! just few days before the finals the bus was riding to each and every place. When people called and said that they somewhat saw my face on a bus, the sense of being a star! priceless! But It was only for that moment. Honest.

Then came the kids season where we had the tiniest of the tiniest singing their lungs out. I had been called to check along the finalists performances. And this time 'Talent Hunters' had grown several yards longer , from Al Falaj to the Amphitheatre (the biggest stage accommodating 5000 people approx.) But sadly I was not able to attend this one coz I was in India then.

Now it's the one for the teens.BTW I am still a teen :D When I received Dalal's call for an invitation to take part in the selection of songs for the finalists ,once again those fond memories were blown back like a wind. Along with a few other senior members we started the session by 7:30. There is quality but in most the singers I found lack of classical knowledge or background. Some were shivering with fear and some totally approached us with a care free attitude. And there was this one girl who kept going out of rythm and this irritated Manoj Bhattji. He was astonished to hear a finalist go out of rythm and this provoked him each time to raise his voice. Seeing that he was not too happy with her singing , she eventually declined and said that she'll probably practice and make an attempt again. Some sang exceedingly well . You know even if you can't sing that great or probably have a voice of low register or high register, etc ...either you practice day and night and rectify it or else choose a song that suits your texture. Most of them wanted to sing Dil Cheez Kya hai and Manoj ji said that "If you choose this song, Neha will beat me coz she has won first prize for this song as she sung it with so much perfection". I got soooooo embarrassed and it was pretty sweet of him to say something that nice about me ... and oh ya !! I won't harm anyone for selecting that one !! That is one of the songs I had sung for the finals. After we packed up the whole session someone shooted out 'Neha ,how come your not taking part?' and I replied that I don't live in Oman anymore :( and it's time for the lil ones to come up. Someone also commented that I am now into selection process than the participation one. I feel so grown up and I hate that. I wish I were still a toddler not having to worry about anything except for the diapers. Gone are those days. Gone. Forever.
Never meant to revert back.

Orkut help !!

In Orkut ,in my profile I had given the links to all my three blogs. And from the past few days it has been coming as 'content suppressed'. I tried editing it many times, it gets back to normal and within hours it goes back to square one. Is Orkut not allowing or .. is it some technical problem? Coz few of my friends asked me my blog link cos of it's unavailability on my Orkut profile. Are your links also showing the same content? If you have a solution or the reason to the problem, Please help.