"You know there are some very important memories buried in an old wooden chest in your heart. I am speaking memories of things you wanted to do and habits you wanted to change, people you wanted to thank and others you wanted to spend time with.

We never open up that old wooden chest frequently enough. Hey...what about today? Wouldn't it be a great day to turn some of those memories into action? "

Not my thoughts but yeah you can always map your thoughts when you can't give shape to it.

This is how it all started.

Today is the best day for my music quest, I got 3GB of Illayaraja
mp3 songs. Huhhhhh!

I formated my notebook recently and I didn't take backup of my
song collections. Silly, but I was given limited time and priorities
cornered my interest. At last! I got it. The day went excellent in
listening to all the songs. I miss Sigaram and an other song from
Uyire unnakaga. Will transform them to CDs when I travel home
next week.

Music and books form the major part of my beautiful life.

"Every day is a different page and they can be full of surprises. You
will never know what is next until you turn the page" ~Sidney

All the time my mom scolds me for buying cds and books but yeah,
I always find reasons for stopping her. I listen only to popular
numbers in Hindi but in English and Tamil there is no limit. Everday
you find something new. I wish to write some posts on the songs
that I like and the lyrics both in Tamil and English. Let me see.

Recently I started collecting all old compilations, aruna sairam,
bharathiar songs. I have quiet good collection of AR which I flicked from
one my friend. I am expecting an other bunch of cds to be dumped on me
in coming week. They all enjoy watching me doing this without doing my
work and ofcourse what is more in life than keeping yourself happy.

Will continue this topic then there....

"All of the early Thanks giving celebrations had one thing in common.
The thanksgiving was directed toward God. It did not matter that
many had very hard times. The people knew that God was their creator
and provider and that all good things ultimately came from Him."

Few days back we were discussing in room about the relation between
Pongal and Thanksgiving. We all were introduced to the thanks giving
holidays only when we worked with American nationals. I have a good
american colleague come friend who was basically mexican origin, we
used to share a lot about both the traditions and got to know from him
the history of thanks giving and he used to ask me everytime for every
festival we celebrate and sometimes he gets confused too. When he
asked about pongal, I said boss dont confuse it is nothing but your
thanksgiving.

There is a feeling in me that we share lots of similar practices across
culture.

My native is a very lovely typical village close to places in tamilnadu where
everybody loves to live. My parents moved to a nearby town before I
was born.

For us pongal used to be very important than Deepavali. Now things are
different and everyone in our family are busy with their own things. But
this was not the same before 6 or 7 years.

Thai onam thethi, we keep pongal in our home and then start to our native.
Matu pongal, ullavar thirunal than mukiyamana nale. That time my
grand father was alive and I long for such a life even now. Matu pongal was
so much fun for me (ammanimaatu pongal ungaluku thanenu sollareenganu
puriyuthu, but seriousa kathai kellunga), we prepare our farm for the
festival. Annaikuthan matuku, matu vandiku ellam paint adichu appadiye
pottuvechu parka allaga irukum.

Appuram enga thotathula kullaye ollaila oru fence poduvom. Antha
fencela adupu ellam set panni, nalla panai ellam paint adichu summa
gumunu irrukum. We also prepare something called thepakulam there, I
dont know whether you have heard of itbut it is made with cow dung and
mud (dont say whuhaaaaa, farmers live with everything).

All this work used to get over by 3 in the afternoon, appuram vetuku poi
nalla pudhu dress ellam pottu, matu vandila eri periya padaye thotathuku
povam. Lots of relatives, workers and some poor people in village visit
us on day, chinna ponnacha ellam ore partya than irrukum. Appuram
enga amma athai ellam sernthu pongal veipanga, that day they also
prepare that pacha arisi satham and gravy with thatapayir and all
vegetables from our farm. First ellathayum kalanthu adichu nama
mattu nanbargaluku ellam feed pannuvom. Then we serve for the
relatives and sapatuku appuram than real comedye. That thepakulam
that I mentioned anga matayalam verati enga maama ellam
villayaduvanga, the cows will go hit that thepakulam, hit each other
and finally they will demolish it. Maata kushi padutha few people join
and beat the drums and sing one song, konhcam sathama irrukum.

I always used stand with my grandfather. Enga moonu mamavum koncham
avanga young stagela busya irrupanga, namma avangala disturb
pannarathu illa.

Ippa ethellam ethuvum illa, niraya kanavugalum ninaivugalum matum
irruku. Now my uncles also moved out. Only once in a year or so, they allow
me to visit that village, ponnunganale koncham kastam than, they all look
at me differently now, pavadai satai ellam pottutu suthitu iruntha ponnu
anjarai adiku nina yaru than nambuvanga. Ippavum enga amma matu
pongal anniku avanga appava ninachu alluvanga,koncham kastamma
irrukum.

Namma aasai ellam seekiram entha functiona ellarthodayum enga orrula
kondadanum.

Ellorkum iniya pongal nal vazthukal.

Bought Sidney Sheldon's "The Other Side of me" two weeks back
and took really long time to complete it. Sheldon has written or told
his story in a different style (atleast different from his own style). It
was wonderful to know about him, his greatest tale but remember
it is interesting only if you are interested to know him.

Now I am reading ludlum's "The Tristan betrayal". Just completed
150 pages of it. So far the story is interesting. I will write more (?) about
it when I complete it.

I observed that his quotes are really wonderful. In one situation the
author talks about a treaty that is signed between nazis and communist
and an other time when the hero goes to catch a flight where he says
about the difference between success and failure.

The relevance between the quotes and happenings are just wonderful.

"Hitler offers stalin a piece of paper to sign, a paper that says we are friends,
our interests coincide, we r partners. But what stalin sees in that treaty is
what he wishes to see; a reflection of his ambitions,his hopes, his
aspirations.....

...Truth is shattered mirror. strewn in myriad bits. each believes his little bit
is the whole truth"

"Dwell on the past, and you'll lose an eye;forget the past and you'll lose
both eyes"

"The difference between success and failure might be as slim as a few seconds"

hmm, every author is different from other and they are interesting. I started
reading english magazines may be from my final year. I have not read much
but I think I can fill in the gaps :). If I start with someone I first complete
all possible or available books of the author and then move to the next. Bad
practice but now days I am getting better.

Thought of reading "The class" after sidney sheldon's other side but was
little bored with reading segal continuously. Before my travel I read man,
woman & child, acts of faith. Have to read class and oliver story.

Let me not bore you more... :)