Mahabharata

What started off as a time pass stoner conversation between Songi and me has grown into a full fledged temporary obsession.
If you had to make a Mahabharata Tetralogy (Not a trilogy, coz it wouldn't do justice to the epic) what would your dream team be? You can pick two sets of people - from Kollywood and from Bollywood. (And if you wish to, a mix of both. Also, the big boys from Mel and Golti land can be included.)
The reason why this is so much fun is because you have a long list of characters to cast.
You can take the list from the 1989 Peter Brook's stage adaptation of the epic. (It was later made into a six hour mini series.)
Assume that you are making a serious, mythological movie that "captures the battles, intrigues, spiritual complexity and cultural aesthetics of India"
You also get to decide the director, screenwriter, music composer, art director, costume designer etc. You may choose to get firangis to do the above but the cast should be strictly indian.
I shall put up my list soonly. (In a week, so that I don't bias your choices.)
Oh and it goes without saying that we assume that the actors should all be available to work in the project in the near future. So you can't cast Sivaji Ganesan in the role of Karna and so on.
And if you are as intrigued as I am with this subject, you may also decide what each part contains. This is basically an exercise in sharpening your memory of The Great Epic and showing off your knowledge of the cinemas.



:)


PS: For those not too familiar with the Mahabharata, I suggest you read Rajaji's version online. And who here is not familiar with Indian cinema?

Aasa dosa

I heard a song the other day.
you can check it out on youchoob here.
Aasa Dosa from Paramasivam (2006) starring "Thala" Ajith Kumar.

Now the reason I was blown away by it was the lyrics. (check out the entire lyrics here)
Sample this. A hot girl is singing this about herself -

Naan poranthaen
Pathooru gaali
Valarnthaen
Jillavey gaali
Sirichaen ellorum
Gaali Maamaa

And the line that I rasichified so much...

Ennathaan paathaley podhum
Kuthaalam nimirndhidumey

What a wonderful imagery I say! You've to give it to Na.Muthukumar for coming up with something so...so... words escape me.
You can listen to the rest of the song too. It's a nice kuthu paatu. Goes well with a cutting and chips.

Kannu, idhu pudhusu!

A new beginning.
A new hope.
A new home.

:)



engalukkum kaalam varum;
kaalam vandhaal vaazhvu varum;
vaazhvu vandhaal anaivaraiyum vaazhavaipomey!

- Pasamalar (1961)

Nenjaankootil neeye nirkiraai penne...

I chanced upon that song from the film Dishoom in the radio a month or so back and the first line of the song just caught me off guard. There is something so stirring about it that I go all light headed every time I listen to it. The rest of the song isn't that great or anything. It has a nice, refreshing tune. Do give it a shot and tell me if you like it.

I just can't seem to get over those three words...
Nenjaankootil
neeye
nirkiraai

kirukkanin kirukkal

A
fleeting
glimpse.

Like a puff
of green smoke that
fills my lungs,
floods my thoughts,
warms my toes,
dries my lips,
numbs my senses,
you
have
left
me
out of breath,
at a loss for words,
(writing imitation poetry)
H.I.G.H.

For a moment
you were mine.
I was yours.
And I shall ask
for nothing more.

A
fleeting
glimpse.

nenjukkuL isaiyaaga

After breaking away from the umbilical cord, we spend the rest of our lives trying to connect to people. Parents, siblings, friends, companions, spouses, kids - all these are connections we make to stay grounded.
"No man is an island." said the great thinker Jon Bon Jovi.
Real connection happens but rarely and lasts a fleeting moment.

The other day, i was travelling by bus and was listening to the radio on my mobile. The fellow sitting next to me broke into a song, quite unconsciously.

poo vizhi paarvaiyil minnal kaattinaaL
aayiram aasaigaL ennil oottinaaL
yaeno yaeno nenjai poottinaaL
iravum pagalum ennai vaattinaaL
idhayam avaL peyaril maatrinaaL
kaadhal theeyai vandhu moottinaaL

A melodious number by Ilayaraaja from Kaadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997) - Ennai Thaalatta Varuvaala. Incidentally, I had just tuned into the same station and was humming along in my mind.
There was that moment.
My fellow passenger finished singing this stanza.
He then slowly turned around and looked at me.
We acknowledged each other's presence.
And went back to staring out of the window.

enadhu iravu avaL koondhalil
enadhu pagalgaL avaL paarvaiyil
kaalam ellaam avaL paarvaiyil
kanavu kalaiyavillai kaNgaLil
idhayam thudikkavillai aasaiyil
vaazhvum thaazhvum avaL vaarthaiyil
kaNNukkuL imaiyaaga irukkindraaL
nenjukkuL isaiyaaga thudikkindraaL

- sung by Hariharan, lyrics by Pazhani Bharathi.

Thundu Beedi

I smoked Beedis yesterday. I'd been wanting to try it out for a long time. Ashwin and I met up at Chomas around 7pm. We took a little walk to the nearest general stores and bought a 600ml coke bottle. Opened it and drank a little. Crossed the road to get to the TASMAC wine shop (Why do they call it a wine shop as opposed to liquor store? I've not seen anything other than Golconda wine being sold there!) and bought a quarter Mc rum. Poured it into the coke bottle, disposed the rum bottle and started walking back. On the way back I bought Beedis for two bucks. There were five.

We settled down at our usual location on the boundary walls of Chomas (Somasundaram playground) and started swigging. I lit up a Beedi. I was quite excited. It was my first one. And well, it was... nice. It was smooth. There was a distinct flavor of natural tobacco leaves. It tasted a little sweet. I really liked it.
We were talking about the good ol' days and the coke bottle emptied slowly. There was a pleasant breeze. The Moon was high up in the sky. It had a radiant glow. The playground was nearly empty except for a few kids. It was a beautiful night.


Beedi jalai lay
Jigar se piya
Jigar maa badi aag hai
Beedi jalai lay
Jigar se piya
Jigar maa badi aag hai

- The Beedi song, Omkara