Ninaivugal...Thoughts

Being in US, one might not get to watch English movies, but Telugu movies, you get in abundance. I happened to watch the Telugu movie, Varsham , which is a Trisha starrer. Not an out of the world movie, but good enough to spend two and a half hours without boredom! The songs were certainly catchy and no wonder did it become a musical hit. I don't want to talk more about the movie and in any case, I am planning to keep my reviews short in future. With the number of movies I am watching everyday, I guess I have lost the patience to write pages and pages of the same old stuff about movies!!

Anything in the world makes logical sense but for the selection committee of the Indian cricket team. Kiran More guffaws and grins as if he is going to talk something wise for the first time in his life and almost invariably answers the media with a clownish, indecipherable and a worthless comment with absolutely no sense of maturity. Sourav Ganguly is dropped from the squad for the third test at Ahmedabad against the Sri Lankans and More attributes it to developing a squad for the future. Ok! Everything sounds fine! What does the selection committe do after a week? The BCCI president Sharad Pawar meets every Tom, Dick and Harry to set things right and finally Lo and Behold, Sourav Ganguly finds his place in the elite squad to Pakistan. Now how does More defend himself : We need stability in the middle order! Oh my God! Can it get worse? What a remark! The richest sporting body in the world selects a team to an all-important tour of Pakistan based on the whims and fancies of a ...

My all time favourite poem and certainly, Kipling's most famous poem! A poem to get me out of the dumps! This poem was written by him with his only son in mind who he lost to war. He has carved a masterpiece that will be there for generations to come! If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you But make allowance for their doubting too, If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream--and not make dreams your master, If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-o...

Listening to the song Tere bina zindagi se koi shikhwa from the movie Aandhi, one gets transported to an ethereal world. This song is rendered to perfection by the melody perfectionists Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar . The song has that enchanting appeal and one can compare the contrast in the songs of today's cinema. I have listened to this song innumerable times, and each time, the song renders a new meaning and neatly fills my heart with solace. This album has awesome tracks sung by the duo. The track Tum aa gaye ho is another piece that can take the listener to dizzy heights. Gulzaar's lyrics makes it a perfect combination of a great musical. Fast forward to today's cinema. Lata Mangeshkar renders her voice to some meaningless movies like Dil to pagal hai, veer zaara, mohabbatein and other terrible movies. Lata's hoarse voice makes us wonder where has she lost that wonderful voice? Obviously she can't render the same perfection in today's musical. What...

After a rather hectic fortnight of exams and projects, it is time to spend the holidays with books, movies and blogs. Not that I was missing out on the movies. I have watched quite a lot of them since the purchase of the Pioneer home theater system. Its been quite a list of movies. The Apocalypse now Basic Instinct Sholay Ram Balaram Teesri Manzil Jaanwar City of God The Bourne Identity Hyderabad Blues Iris The Legend of Bhagat Singh and with many more to come... All in all, a good fortnight that I am looking forward to!!!

On a day when one of the world's best batsmen, Brian Lara faced yet another delivery from one of the world's best bowlers, Glenn Mcgrath, history was meant to be rewritten. The fascinating duels between these two has been a treat for the billions of viewers worldwide. It is a different matter that Mcgrath has dismissed him most number of times in Test cricket(15 in total) and it is altogether a different issue that Lara has dominated the Australian bowling attack many a times in the past decade. It is sheer destiny that Lara had to break Allan Border's record for most test runs in Australia against Australia, and by clipping Mcgrath for a single on the onside. Lara's feat today is a result of his stylish dominance over almost all bowlers in the world. The class and style evoked by the master is evident by that stylish backlift when he pulls the fast bowlers through the on-side piercing the gaps with ease. Lara can be attributed to have been gifted with a priceless sense...

A big match in Eden Gardens, Calcutta is generally a moment to savour. But what happened on 25 November, 2005 is really hard to take. Most of the Indians would like to forget what happened that day not because of the terrible all-round performance by the Indians but because of the way the crowd pulled its weight in South Africa's favour. Come on! One can't support the opposition just because your state player is not playing for the country. The truth is Sourav Ganguly did not deserve a placed in the one day squad going by his current form. Current form! He has been going through a bad patch for the last two years. What more does he expect from the selectors? But, what does Calcutta do? It shows its disappointment by ridiculing the home team and applauding the visitors. There is definitely nothing wrong in applauding the opposition's performance but why turn hostile to a team that you have been supporting for the last how many ever years. It is a funny story. Calcutta turns ...

A subject that has not been dealt effectively finally finds its way into the folds of Hindi cinema. It depends on the viewer's take on live in relationship. A simple story of a couple(not a married one) staying together just to find out whether they can be compatible in the future or not forms the backdrop of this movie. Writing a review on Salaam Namaste at this point may not serve a lot of purpose for others, since I guess most of them would have watched the movie by now. But I had the opportunity to watch it after a considerable time thanks to the India Association here. As always, my punctuality deserts me at such moments and I arrived at the Physics seminar hall a good fifteen minutes late. But the good thing about Indian movies is that the viewer can follow the story from any given point. It doesn't matter whether one is fifteen minutes late or an hour late! It is about two people, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan , who have divergent set of views and though both of them le...

Five days of holidays to look forward to is great, considering the kind of crammed schedule we have to put up with. We decided to spend the evening watching one of everyone's alltime favourite movies, Michael Madana Kamarajan . It was a long time since I had watched this movie and it was real fun to catch up with the old times again!! On any day, it is better to watch an old movie than risk watching a new meaningless movie and so we decided to go ahead with this entertaining Kamal classic.

Seeing Michael Madana Kamarajan for the nth time does not give the viewer the chance to change his opinion on the movie. One Kamal Hassan is more than enough in a movie, but what do you do when you are put up with four Kamal Hassans for three hours. You just put up with him in glee!! There are some movies where you just hope the movie ends within the first ten minutes of the start, but MMK is totally different. At the end of the movie, the reaction is Oh! The movie has got over! This movie was released in the year 1990, but almost 15 years later, the movie can still be glorified for its comedy. I will not be delving into the details of the movie. Obviously, everyone should have seen the movie more than once. It is about four sons Michael, Madan, Kameswaran and Raju who get separated at birth due to a conspiracy hatched by their father's brother. The movie basically deals with the tryst of the four brothers in various situations and how they come out unscathed to get together in t...

I sat back today on a real sleepy afternoon not knowing what to do. The film songs and the western musical appeared to fade away in pale insignificance. I wanted something different to recharge my batteries. A gloomy weather is no sign of an active mind. Lethargy grasped firmly in my mind, not allowing me to come out of its clasps. Then, I decided Why not listen to MS? By the way, I assume that everyone knows who MS is, because even a kid ought to know who she is. M S Subbulakshmi of course!!! A half an hour's worth of ethereal music transferred me to the highest echeleon of happiness and peace. Hanuman Chalisa , in praise of Lord Hanuman and Vishnu Sahasranamam , in praise of Lord Vishnu left me spellbound. That was divine incarnation singing. I can still recollect the face in my mind - the large kumkum on her forehead signifying the very embodiment of compassion and peace. She had captivated the billions of people around the world with that magical voice that could lighten your ...

On a cold saturday evening, just before going to the University, my friend and I were shuffling with the IPod hoping to hear some good music. The speakers came to life with one of Rahman's greatest muscial Pudhu vellai mazhai from Roja. That's when we had the discussion - Can Rahman ever recreate the magic of Roja? Roja was his first musical and this prodigious talent was identified by another versatile genius - Mani Ratnam. The combination has worked magic ever since, but inspite of a host of other movies for which they joined together - Iruvar, Thiruda Thiruda, Dil Se, Kannathil Muthamittal, Alai Payuthey and Ayutha Ezhuthu, none could come upto the expectations of Roja. Of course, these movies have fantastic music compositions and some of my favourites. Rahman has always delivered the best for Mani Ratnam, but the problem is that his first movie has surged ahead in such dynamic proportions that anything else from Rahman is only considered not even a close but a distant seco...

The mail in my inbox read Dr. Andrew Bernstein of the Ayn Rand Institute will be speaking on the topic of global capitalism... I had no second thoughts. I am attending this seminar. I did not even know who Dr Andrew Bernstein was, but his affiliation to the Ayn Rand institute was more than enough to motivate me. Having read The Fountainhead , and in the process of reading Atlas Shrugged, I did not need a second invitation. Let me tell you something. The motivation levels to attend a seminar at 7PM at the Havener Center is no joke what with the temperature tending to sub zero levels. The walk from the department to the Havener center and then back to the department chills. I was one of the thirty odd guys to be present in the hall. The talks on Capitalism was not on an economic point of view alone, but on the fact that how different parts of the world are in a better position today thanks to capitalism. He said how the Asian power houses are emerging due to the advocacy of capitalism. T...

I am sure nobody has any doubts regarding the popularity of India's most celebrated festival - Deepavali. Also called Diwali, it brings with it a fervour of activity and bliss all around. The whole of India gets ready to cash the excitement and goodwill that percolates slowly. India is secular by all right and Diwali takes the flavour of secularism to new heights. A festival that cuts across all religious barriers, whiffing past all caste, creed and colour, generating an atmosphere of agog is Diwali. In India, the preparations for the big festival start well in advance, and it is a time for happiness for everyone. Everyone has his own way of raking in the moolah to cash in on the good times! Now, how do things change when you are abroad? Here in Rolla, the Diwali night is almost the biggest festival. People in and around Rolla gather in large numbers to witness the gloss associated with the event. This year, we had the Diwali Nite on 13th Nov, 2005. The auditorium was booked well i...

As my friend exposed me to the world of Pink Floyd , there were a couple of songs that really blew me apart - Turning away and Learning to Fly . Obviously, I was inspired to come up with my own version if not in a big way! Thanks Pravin (he shares my name but with a different spelling)! A world that has become rhetoric, With farce so often justified, No real ways to come out with the truth, Hope you don’t follow the line! Dropping words that are only mystified, Neither enlightening nor commendable, Living with hidden traits and an individuality, Losing its value over a period of time! A non-existent peace of mind; where to find, A sense of belonging lost; you are in a coterie, Live to appease, but how long? When are you coming out of the deja-vu? A fixed pattern that is close to your heart, It does require a lot of will to change, You are in to herald a bright future, A future not to be wilted, witness the sheen! A long way to go, to face the world, It is so easy to live the rest blu...

In deep retrospection or rather introspection, I had a flurry of thoughts hitting me. This was just the right time to translate my thoughts to words! It was the time of kings, When there weren't many a thing, A life full of joy and peace, Every reason to feel at ease! Today, the days of democracy, Where life is getting crazy, Many a people in the race, To run the country through a maze! In the darbar, subjects and ministers, Many a talks, but none sinister, A clear solution fell in place, There was a feeling of solace! Today, a mess of all sorts, Leading a life full of torts, Everyone fighting for fame, But none to share the blame! Those were the days, When law had its say, Morals and values formed the core, People followed it without a sore! Today, people have no time, Anything other than a dime is a crime, Morals and values today a sore, Dime, dime and dime form the core! True values have lost its meaning, It is upto us to relive the feelings, Of honesty, trust and mutual respect...

Wow! Imagine the crispy nei (ghee) roast filled with ullakazhangu (potato) curry or more commonly called the masala coated with a layer of melting butter in your mouth. Whoa! What a feeling! The feeling itself paralyses me for a moment. Nothing in the world can beat the delicate roll of a masala dosai . Get me the dishes - burgers, pizzas, enchiladas, burritos.... I am sure nothing can come close to this most famous South Indian dish. The crunchy masala dosai gives a feeling of immense satisfaction and pleasure as it finds its way through the esophagus, conveying the dosai from the pharynx to the stomach ( I think I remember some Biology). Inevitably, back in India, a weekly bout of four-five masala dosais used to find its way into my stomach. Any hotel, any place, the dish used to be dosai. I am reminded of the number of new darshinis (stand-in restaurants) lining up the streets every other day. One place that stands out for fantastic masala dosais is Central Tiffin Room (Shree Saga...

A remake of a movie is great as long as it suits the masses. Ghajini is supposed to be a hit, atleast according to the innumerable reviews that has been posted everywhere. What is unfathomable is, how can a movie that defies the basic elements of logic can go on to be a hit? There were just too many illogical moments in the movie, that the whole two and a half hours was left so incomplete. The four of us had planned to watch this movie for almost a month, and after a steely resolve, we decided to watch it yesterday (luckily one guy couldn't make it!). We had a lot of expectations from the movie. Obviously, people were going ga-ga over this madness. I wouldn't want to narrate the entire plot and relive those three hours of absolute torture. It is supposed to be adapted from a good English movie - The Memento. Of course, there is the addition of these comedy scenes and melodrama. All is fine! Ok coming to the story... Surya is a rich entrepreneur running a cellular service prov...

Part I I met him in a pretty middle class restaurant at Sai Shakti , Malleswaram, Bangalore. A restaurant that gives a feel of a home with its simple menu and reasonable good price. In front of me was a gentleman, who looked very simple in this simple ambience. What a setting! I was in no mood to strike a conversation with anybody. I was more concerned about my US trip at that point of time. By the way, it was about a month before I got my visa. So, obviously, I had a lot of things running in my head. I was involved in decision making and to be honest, I take quite a long time in taking decisions. As I was gazing in wilderness, I had a voice calling me. I realised that the gentleman sitting in front of me was calling and I had no clue in the world as to who he was. But we struck an instant chord. He was a friendly person, and his experience in life is my age. We chatted about a lot of things. And before I forget to mention his name. He is Mr Mallikarjuna H P, General Secretary, Dedicat...

Sometimes you take sad decisions. After a long wait and much anticipation we decided to watch a movie and Ghajini it had to be. The seemless torture for about three hours filled us with agony for having watched such a meaningless cinema. Imagine leaving your studies, research work, assignments and discussions to watch a movie which leaves a bad taste in the end. But then, not all movies are good (unfortunately!!!).... Waiting to watch another movie, nevertheless!!!

Place : Rolla, MO Even though it is a pretty late post, I think the blame shouln't fall on me. I was waiting for the birthday pics before I could post my entry on this. If you are wondering what this is all about, this date happens to be my birthday. It was not a great birthday eve. I had sickness creeping in the late evening. A bout of cold along with mild fever made me take some home made Kashayam , courtesy my roommate Ramaprasad ! I called up home and some of the relatives, and was flat out by 9:30 in the night. I later realised being dragged from my mattress and Lo and Behold, there were the 1300 dacoits waiting for me with colas and honey glazed buns. I received the birthday wishes from everybody, but then every fun element is associated with spanking. Yeps! receiving birthday bumps from all quarters and from a set of desperate guys to kick somebody at anytime is no joke. Believe me or not, one of them even had his boots on when I had to receive the kicks. It was a nice surp...

Last evening was pretty eventful. As the thermometer was struggling to get the mercury levels rising, the dipping temperature provided us the ideal platform to test our Bajji making skills. The Bajji mavu, potatoes, chillies (rather Jalapeno) and onions were laid on a platter, with one of us cutting the potatoes and onions, and the other making the dough. It is always exciting to try something new and we weren't sure how good the final product would be. Of course, we were smacking our lips by just imagining how good it would be. As the oil in the tava warmed up to a nicety, the potato was dipped into the semi-solidified bajji mavu , propped up beautifully and finally immersed into the frying pan. KccchhhhK! Wow! What a noise! After a long time, it was good to hear the splattering potato in the oil. It was music to our ears. As the bajji emerged out of the frying pan, all of us were eyeing it with a sense of contentment and pride. Obviously! Who gets to make bajjis everyday. The b...

It just doesn't matter how much ever the Professor says - It is a simple 100 marks paper. You will have five questions each of 20 marks. You should ideally be out of the exam hall in half an hour. The effort you put in to prepare for a relatively easy paper is almost the same as that of a tough one. Ultimately, whether the paper is easy or not, the contents can be filled in the sheet only when something is there in the mind. I am a professional as far as writing exams are concerned. Right from my school days, struggling through my Pre-University exams and battling it out in my undergraduate exams, I would have written close to 250 exams (tests inclusive) easily. Life doesn't change though when you are again preparing for an exam, the only difference being now you are writing a graduate exam. Atleast let me get the preparations right! Let's care about the result later! Just like any other semester, there would be one elusive subject where you put the burden on the Almighty. ...

It is not everyday that a talk on pre-marital sex can lead to Hinduism and religion. It was just one of those days, where everyone spoke and about a lot of things! How (im)moral is it to have pre-marital sex! It is always good to elicit different views on this rather subdued subject. Obviously, in India it is still a taboo to talk about sex and related issues. No wonder, we get to study the related topics only in the tenth grade and that too not in all the mediums. Imagine a student taking up electronics or computer science in his eleventh and twelfth grade. He would have no formal way to learn about sex. And this is what the majority of the country is into at this time - no person has no definite say in this subject! So how right is it to have pre-marital sex? Or rather should we be saying Can we talk about pre-marital sex? But being mature enough individuals, it is always good to vent your opinion for/against this topic. What has been subdued for so long should atleast have a common...

A movie made by India's finest director Mani Ratnam featuring the most talented actor Kamal Hassan and having its music composed by the one of the best music directors Illayaraja was very much high on expectations. The product was nothing short of sheer brilliance. Nayagan had got it all right!! It is almost fifteen years since the movie hit the big screen, but even today it is the most talked off movie in film circles. It was supposed to be filmed on the lines of another great English movie, Godfather starring Marlon Brando . A remake from any language is a difficult job, but Mani Ratnam had got the basic elements right to take the movie to the Indian masses. This movie is nothing short of a legend. The movie starts off in dramatic style with the protagonist Velu's father, who is a union leader is short dead by the police. Velu has not even grown up beyond 10 maybe. He escapes off to Bombay not knowing what to expect from the big city. There he gets to meet his to be lo...

The real backdrop of a typical hindi movie cannot be complete without these messy elements - songs, dance sequences, more songs, more dance, hero meets heroine, love against all odds and finally ending up a in a marriage sequence that can be befitting only to Hindi cinema. Many directors have time and again made it miserable for the Hindi movie audience and the mental truama associated with the cinegoer is unimaginable. But there are some directors who break the norm associated with Bollywood and come up with something unconventional and sensational leaving the audience gasping for breath. These directors can be packed to an elite class and Anurag Kashyap invariably finds his name cemented in this league of extraordinary gentlemen. Hussain Zaidi's book, Black Friday hit the stands depicting the 12th of March, 1993 Mumbai blasts, one of the many unforgettable days in Indian history. And so did Anurag Kashyap's film based on the book was made. I refrain from using the phrase h...

Nothing can be as heart warming as reading a book on a friday night when you know that you have tests lined up for the coming week! I had the pleasure of reading Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat . It is all about What not to do at IIT! Unlike other weekends, I got up early in the morning to finish up the last few chapters. You would never see me doing that for an exam or a test. But then these are the good things about good books. You never get to know how time flies. A good book on a weekend is the most amazing thing for anybody in the world. If you have time, grab a copy of this wonderful book to have a good time!!

How would you feel if you are travelling in a train at a speed of 500km/hr! yes, that's how I would describe Five Point Someone . A racy book with all the fun elements integrated in a neat package. Chetan Bhagat has come up with a superb debut. What exactly is the kind of life that is being lead behind the doors of the best technological school in India and one of the elite in the world cannot be handled in a more entertaining way. It is a story of three youngsters, Hari, Alok and Ryan . I wouldn't be going into their academics. Nothing more suffices to explain their academic brilliance than getting into IIT. Obviously they are among the best in the country. It is about life beyond academics. Their friendhsip gels to a nicety on the first day at the hostel when they are ensnared in a ragging session with two seniors. Their bare intentions exposed, Ryan takes the plunge in getting the other two out of the rut from the seniors. This brings the three of them close. To describe t...

A book which effectively deals with realistic issues and perfect embodiment of simplicity and values is found in Bachelor of Arts . R.K Narayan has this uncanny knack of portraying Indian values in the most authentic way. He handles it in a way that no author can do the same justice to the Indian conditions. Many foreign authors have tried and faltered to come to terms with the living conditions here. But, R.K. Narayan has repeatedly come up with books that essays deeply into the emotions of the common man, picking out little things from daily lives that makes a big difference to the reader when reading the book. Be it the masterpiece Swami and friends , where any reader can be attributed to have lead a life similar to that of Swami, The Financial Expert which brilliantly deals about the relationship between father and son or The English Teacher , which explores the intricate association between a husband and wife, and the subsequent agony of the husband after his wife's departe...

A story woven out of wafer thin concept, driven by morals, values and ethics with simple entertainment can be translated to a highly meaningful cinema only by a genius. Ashutosh can walk with his head held high!!! He has come up with a gem of a movie, touching the emotional chords of reality. The fusion of the west and east, and its inextricable separation cannot be displayed in a more authentic way. Swades , starts off in the backdrop of NASA, powered by the big guns of the technological field, with one of its high priority projects managed by an Indian - Mohan Bhargav, in the role of a Project Manager, aptly enacted by Shahrukh Khan . Shahrukh can be attributed to have enacted the role of his lifetime. It was really annoying to see Shahrukh in the usual run-of-the-mill roles as Rahul and what not in every other romantic flick. A highly talented actor like Shahrukh could not have had a better platform to showcase his skills. The sheer agony of having to chose NASA or charanpur to l...

The book driven mainly by a single character, Howard Roarke , an architect who is the symbol of ideals, values, morals and principles leaves us in doubt. Who gets the credit? Howard Roarke or Ayn Rand , the author? Ayn has created Roarke to perfection and his ability to stick to his strong ideals in the face of adversity leaves the readers with a sense of deference towards Roarke. The main theme of the book is whether an individual has to live for himself or should he survive by appeasing the whims and fancies of all around. The latter is referred to as the Second Hander. According to the author, the creativity of the owner is modified by the second hander to get adoration and admiration that would prove to be futile in the long run. The Fountainhead is a simple story of the life of two different kind of architects - Peter Keating(second hander) and Howard Roarke(creative idealist). Roarke is suspended from Stanton institute in his final year of his architectural study as he refuses ...

Does it make a difference whether you are in Bangalore or in the United States? I would definitely say no. The general lifestyle tends to change but not to a large extent. Life trudges along the same mechanical lines. The limits are very clear. You tend to do what you have been doing the last twenty years albeit with a touch of independence and measured self-confidence. If Bangalore was all about studies for a student, life here in Rolla encompasses other things too. Cooking, washing, cleaning, reading, surfing, blogging and maybe studying, form the daily chores. What is this talk about International community and overall exposure? Be it a Graduate Students meet or International Students meet or any other meet, the major chunk of the guys tend to be Indians. International students do exist, but it is largely overridden by the vast majority of us, that they other nations form a miniscule of the student population. I many times, feel that I stay in an Indian colony in Bangalore. The apar...

A game of squash is fun - real fun indeed. The recreation center in the university sports great facilities in badminton, basketball, lawn tennis, gymnasium, racquet ball and squash. So, why not Squash today? Experimenting, learning and picking up new things is great fun. Back from a good treadmill session, I happened to meet my friend who was back from an endearing session of squash. I pulled him for another session...obviously I wanted to try out this fascinating game. He came after a lot of reluctance. 25 minutes of back-breaking ball hitting. I was trying my level best not to go for the backhand chops, a habit procured from table tennis. Hitting across the walls, and trying to outwit the opposition is challenging stuff. At the end of a pretty tiring game, we decided we would end the day at the recreation center. And then, casually, we tried to open the door. Oops! The door seems to be locked! Both of us tried rotating the knob in both ways, and it seemed to have stuck. There is no ...

Anyone would get mesmerised by the name of the place and so were we. This was one of the reasons why we wanted to visit the HaHa Tonka state park located maybe 50-60 miles off Rolla. The Council of Graduate students decided that as a great start to the semester, it would be befitting to start off with a nice little picnic and so the place decided to be Haha Tonka. I got this information from the University website. In 1904, Robert Snyder, a wealthy Kansas City, MO businessman, was so impressed with the natural beauty of the location that he purchased around 2,500 acres of the land for use as a resort. Synder originally started out in St. Louis and worked in the wholesale grocery business. He later moved to Kansas City where he became involved with the wholesale grocery business, banking, land speculation, and utilities. Snyder owned the Snyder Gas Company of Kansas City and was one of the first automobile owners in that city. In his business dealings, Synder was always said to operate ...

Whoa! What's this mysterious sounding word. This is nothing but a South Indian sambar made from curds. What a paradox! Sambar and curds getting combined. Yeps! That's the speciality of this item. It was Saturday evening at 6 o' clock. The baays in my room got ready to experiment on yet another item. Oh! I had a sound sleep for an hour and as I got up, I was smacking my lips seeing the dish. We laid down the matress on the carpet, the mor kuzhambu and aloo curry. One of my roommates got up to take the container of yoghurt from the refrigerator. On seeing the brand of yoghurt, I let out a scream. We can't have the curds. It has gelatin. So, I told them, we won't have the curds today. So, my roommate gave out an equally loud scream... In that case, we can't have the kuzhambu too! Then it struck us what had happened. There was curds in the kuzhambu. For a moment all of us were caught on the wrong foot. Here we have a mouth watering dish right in front of us but ...