tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85712069327740651162012-02-14T12:08:35.667+05:30This is a place where I write about the things around me.Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.comBlogger1271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-16250341118646938422011-12-04T10:52:00.002+05:302011-12-04T10:55:31.622+05:30

Here is an article I wrote based on inputs from Pa Ramachandran, sculptor and Asian Studies scholar and my visit to Kazhugumalai, about 50 km from Kovilpatticlick here to see the article.

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-56563329177687161782011-12-02T11:24:00.004+05:302011-12-02T11:29:00.104+05:30

Chaikadai has published the article I wrote on the implementation of carbon credits exchange in different sectors in Chennai. The editors have put in links to key concepts so that this article makes a good starting point for a reading on the subject. click here to view the link

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-54187271502747557252011-11-23T16:07:00.001+05:302011-11-23T16:09:27.275+05:30

Dear Reader Here are some of my poems (four) that muse india has kindly deigned to publish... click here to view the link

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-74117702119299021242011-10-24T15:02:00.002+05:302011-10-24T15:06:50.208+05:30

Humour makes the world go around. a fast disappearing quantity how I envy those from whom jokes slide out as easily as pebbles sliding down a well oiled slope. The shine of humour is not unlike the gentle clinking sound of pebbles either so I'm glad that analogy came to my mind. But when writing a story will the humourous portions have come out all that spontaneously or is it in rewriting that

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-34700567318285967342011-10-14T15:19:00.004+05:302011-12-02T10:08:26.689+05:30

An article I wrote on desalination plants that are about to be constructed in Chennai has been published by HImal Southasian web magazine as a web exclusive article. click here to view the linkThe link may take some time to upload...If you have trouble viewing it copy and paste this link to a browserhttp://himalmag.com/component/content/article/4729-project-desalination.html

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-3927898699122409952011-09-30T19:33:00.001+05:302011-09-30T19:35:15.571+05:30

எவ்வளவு முயன்றும் மண்ணில் பதிய முடியா வேர்கள் ஆகாசத்தில் ஊன்றி நீல காற்றை சுவாசித்து வளர்ந்தன... வேர்கள் அறியவில்லை இது ஒரு வினோத முயற்சியென்று...

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-64347712336379427132011-09-14T11:03:00.002+05:302011-09-21T18:47:23.574+05:30

It's a clean and transparent plot - Ayyan Mani works in the institute of Theory and Research in Mumbai as a personal assistant to the director Arvind Acharya. While the latter boasts of a stellar career in research and a zealous search for the ultimate truth, the former lives in a chawl and has only one aim - to make the lives of his wife and son a bit better and more out-of-the-ordinary than it

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-33924775693883067232011-09-07T06:14:00.006+05:302011-09-08T11:32:31.604+05:30

'An Eye for and Eye makes the whole world Blind'And this is a much milder statement than what is applicable to state sponsored death penalty. The above statement is reminiscent of a feudal system where retribution of a personal kind is sought between equals or people of comparable power. In the case of the death penalty, we have the huge and powerful state acting on behalf of certain individuals

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-22247369236406456602011-08-26T09:38:00.004+05:302011-08-26T21:31:11.755+05:30

Today Anna Hazare is the face of TV - thanks to his very successful promotion at the beginning stages of his movement and mobilising of huge crowds. There are multiple views on him which have come out into the open and it is anybody;s guess how things are going to take a turn. But another person who has been on a fast for nearly eleven years now - Irom Sharmila Chanu, a manipuri girl, daughter of

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-92084991431581256372011-07-16T15:03:00.004+05:302011-07-16T15:21:01.750+05:30

தடயம் தினம் கடக்கும் பாதையைஏதோ நினைத்து திரும்பி பார்த்தவழிப்போக்கியின் நிலை இன்றெனக்கு மலைச்சரிவு, தூரத்து பனிமூட்டம்குளிரில் பெருத்த மரக்கிளை பறவைகள்பனிவிழுந்த புற்களை நிமிண்டும்கன்றுக்குட்டியின் அவசரம்,வெள்ளை ஆந்தையின் கவனப்பார்வை நடுவே அகலும் தார்ச்சாலையில்ஆங்காங்கே மழைநீர் குட்டைகள்நீரில் பட்டுத்தெறித்த வெளிச்சத்தில்நம் கால்தடங்களின் பின்னல் கோலாட்டம். அங்கே கண்ணில் பட்டவை சிலநீரில் கரைந்து

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-60832862072785131382011-07-12T19:31:00.005+05:302011-08-08T14:19:11.981+05:30

I completed the volume today. It must be marked out as a special day for it has been long since I spent as much time on a long novel on a per day basis. What was so special... As Ghosh said at the Chennai launch of the book - Creative writers often tell you to write what you know, my idea was to turn that around and write about the new things - he has really achieved that in River of Smoke. There

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-37969673689409423312011-07-11T17:58:00.008+05:302011-12-02T10:09:24.390+05:30

Here is a link to an article of mine written for the Himal Southasian Blog.It is about the India Based Neutrino Observatory. click on the title above.

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-58028134888984947122011-07-01T11:34:00.003+05:302011-08-08T14:19:40.251+05:30

River of Smoke traces the stories of three sets of people on their journeys across the sea to Southern China where they are headed for different reasons. Bahram Modi, the Gujarati Parsi Opium Merchant and his friend the watchmaker Zadig are bound to Canton for their respective businesses. Modi's son with his lover, a chinese boat woman, Ah Fatt and his acquaintance, Neel Ratan, a raja who is now

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-12304221570379130222011-06-30T23:47:00.004+05:302011-07-01T00:11:20.853+05:30

Penguin formally released copies of River of Smoke here today. Presiding over the function was Mr Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who is himself a writer and a formidable speaker. Mr Amitav Ghosh was there to answer questions on his book and sign copies for the audience who had gathered in enthusiastic numbers. After a short introduction and without much ado Gandhi held aloft a copy of the book and then

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-17379997072735046542011-06-30T17:52:00.002+05:302011-06-30T18:02:08.295+05:30

Now I am a little more than halfway through the book. It will be such a thrill today to meet the author. Amitav Ghosh is here in Chennai and he will be launching this book at Taj Coromandel today. I have a couple of questions to ask him about the book. I wonder if I'll have a chance to ask...

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-72944354022560149412011-06-26T08:38:00.003+05:302011-06-26T08:53:12.999+05:30

நேத்து பாமாவின் சிறுகதை மொளகாப்பொடி நாடகமாக்கத்தை (ஸ்ரீஜித் இயக்கத்தில்) பார்க்க போயிருந்தோம். நாடகத்திக்கின் துவக்கத்தில் ஜீவா ரகுனாத்தின் அறிமுகத்தில் தொடங்கி கடைசி வரி வரை ரசிக்கும்படியாக துளிக்கூட பார்வையாளர்கள் கவனம் குறையாத அளவிற்கு நாடகம் சுவாரசியமாயிருந்தது. எல்லா நடிகர்களும் சிறப்பாக நடித்திருந்தார்கள் அதிலும் சில கதாபாத்திரங்கள் மனதை விட்டு அகலாத வகையில் இருந்தன. குறிப்பாக கங்கம்மா

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-49515400487503500012011-06-19T16:07:00.009+05:302011-08-08T14:20:11.287+05:30

I have very mixed feelings when someone asks me about the work of reviewing books. The more I meditate on the experience the more they get mixed. On the one hand it is a great pleasure to read a new book and to comment on it. It is an invitation to be analytical and judge the book, you'll be thinking. And so it is, in principle! In reality it is a work that has an aftermath. Just like any kind

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-62300640916673731642011-06-16T10:52:00.003+05:302011-08-08T14:21:19.479+05:30

The second volume in Amitav ghosh's Ibis trilogy is here now. 560 pages of hardbound prose... It promises to hold your interest through and through... watch this space for a review within the week...

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-66695887047235312192011-06-14T22:05:00.003+05:302011-06-14T22:13:21.107+05:30

No TV programme can emote like Star Vijay's Super Singer! This week they are on a "retro round" which means old jing bang tra la la songs from the seventies and eighties. We saw the judges, singers Shrinivas, Sujatha and Unni Krishnan in their nostalgic eighties costumes mimicking Kamal haasan and Rajnikanth. And all the participants in jazzy punk hairdo's and bell bottom styles a la elvis

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-13376573098222225272011-06-14T09:04:00.003+05:302011-06-14T09:15:17.391+05:30

Everyday you hear stories of murder and violence and they do affect you badly. The latest in this line, Journalist Dey's murder leaves one speechless. Dey has become a hero but he is not alive to relish it. The number of such heroes who died on duty is on the increase. what a meaningless pursuit of democracy if all that happens to one is being shot at the end of it. Some of these deaths are

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-2630553530513267132011-06-12T21:02:00.002+05:302011-06-12T21:16:18.636+05:30

Today as we were driving on Radhakrishnan road, just at the signal where the road touches the beach, the traffic lights flashed red and the vehicles ground to a halt. We suddenly heard a thud and turned around to see what was wrong. A bike following some distance behind did not have time to halt and butted into the car in front and toppled over. The poor man was hurt in the thigh and we got down,

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-70439815195086346252011-06-10T18:54:00.002+05:302011-06-10T19:02:23.084+05:30

Do miracles happen in real life? If so a miracle is sorely called for to set right all the problems in this world. Sometimes miracles happen for no reason at all. Every step you take is a miracle. You go out thinking that when you find time you have to call a friend and Lo the friend ends up calling you within the minute. Smiling you think now all you need is someone calling to give you a job and

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-75313005912896682562011-06-06T22:15:00.003+05:302011-06-06T22:29:26.804+05:30

The rain and strong winds are throwing the traffic into tangles. I wait at home for people to return home. waiting is never easy, at least for me it isn't, I believe it is difficult for anyone... so I inevitably go and log on either to facebook or gmail or worst comes to worst to the counter to see whether anyone has visited my blog. What is this strange urge to write and to want someone to come

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-44649632143107807022011-06-04T11:25:00.005+05:302011-06-04T12:17:24.045+05:30

Yesterday I attended a talk on the wetlands around chennai. It was an illuminating talk and I learnt about many places I did not know used to be major ecosystems in chennai - like the Padi Villivakkam lake, there is no lake there now apparently only a small ditch with plastic and rubbish being thrown in. It was interesting to note that the way this landgrabbing usually takes place is by filling

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-42497093378955612702011-06-02T15:50:00.002+05:302011-06-02T15:52:55.726+05:30

It's not everyday you talk to a publisher and tell them there's a mistake in the book. No! and it's not often you do it in flair, the very first meeting you have with them, and also do them the favour of sending in a written review!!! This is putting your foot in your mouth in style!! Well, that's what I did today! There's no pardon for me! Friends out there in the ether - reach out and let me

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-48596028960691773642011-06-02T11:26:00.002+05:302011-06-02T11:33:09.414+05:30

One is struck time and again about the pointlessness of doing things... for example laying a road or buying a car. Just take a look at the road outside your window. Do you see a pit in it? I am sure you will unless you live in a dingy room overlooking mount road or live on a tree on the highway. Where did that pit come from, It was nothing but that noise last night - Boys digging it to plant a

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-78787039936445047762011-05-31T10:03:00.003+05:302011-05-31T10:06:37.361+05:30

Review of the book:Journalist and well-known blogger Amit Varma’s first novel, written in 2008, is out on the stands. Looking smart and new in a grey paperback cover carrying an embossed lizard and shocking-pink heart flaunting the title “ My friend Sancho,” the book really calls out to be picked up and read. The shock is not over, yet, as you find on reading the first few pages of the novel: “

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-26477961544324896112011-05-31T09:59:00.003+05:302011-05-31T10:09:34.390+05:30

The Professional, by Subroto Bagchi, Vice Chairman and Co-founder of Mindtree Ltd., was released in November, 2009. In this interview he talks about his views on professional ethics. To begin with a quote from the book cover – ‘Great public efforts are often rooted in deeply personal experiences and sometimes very private feelings’. Corruption is not unique to India, so what is the focal issue

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-20578585731912558172011-05-31T09:54:00.002+05:302011-05-31T09:59:09.413+05:30

Book Review Published in The New Indian ExpressThe focus is certainly on Mughal India, at Hachette, as hot on the heels of Raiders from the North, a fictionalised life of Babur, comes, The Englishman’s Cameo, by Madhulika Liddle. This is a murder mystery set in Shah Jahan’s Delhi. It is different from the former, in that it deals predominantly with the society of those times and very little with

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-2024964586532497802011-05-30T12:18:00.004+05:302011-05-30T12:37:11.161+05:30

The evening held a musical treat what with SPB, Shylaja, SPBCharan and Gopika singing melodies from the seventies -- when flowery phrases and trumpets and bongos ruled the roost!! Musical support was by the Lakshman Shruthi Orchestra. A beautiful list of Melodies carefully chosen and pre-rehearsed... (SPB, who designed the show, worked at making the list for two whole days, eleven hours each day

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-79685276810535015732011-05-28T15:41:00.003+05:302011-05-28T15:49:03.557+05:30

The last time I passed by Pallikaranai Marsh was about fifteen days ago. I went there again yesterday and was amazed to notice that the rubbish heap that borders the marsh had grown to engulf more of the Marsh land again. The birds were conspicuous in the absence - whether this was due to my going there in the afternoon or whether they had given up the territory - remains to be seen.

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-30892021723276301452011-05-27T08:02:00.005+05:302011-05-27T08:34:06.633+05:30

What with the news bringing in stories of Superstars in distress, arrested Paedophiles and foiled attempts to establish uniform standards of education,Vijay TV goes on unabashed with their entertainment drive with a meaning - this times by instituting awards for the best musicians in the film industry. As is everything to do with films - this was a sure fire hit product, even more special

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-61659230684038546672011-05-26T17:44:00.002+05:302011-05-26T17:46:02.108+05:30

A word of praise goes a long way. especially one that is genuine, or what you can believe is genuine. Though you always work harder when you get a kick, the occasional word of praise is really called for....

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-57708176908219818792011-05-25T17:55:00.002+05:302011-05-25T19:30:58.930+05:30

I have never encountered a complete blankout before -- and I can write pages about it!!!

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-71527122832745589032011-05-25T16:00:00.006+05:302011-05-26T14:30:57.920+05:30

I have been focusing so much on the painful things in life that the ridiculous totally escaped me . The last two months have had life nudging at us and making us laugh out loud when we saw what is happening to us. We are slowly being edged out of our own home space, not by the big baddies of the world but - would you even believe it? - a bunch of pigeons and squirrels and the occasional crow. It

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-17831986425035707172011-05-21T14:39:00.003+05:302011-05-21T14:50:43.767+05:30

Last night we were all taken aback by a sudden thundershower. It seemed that all the nervous tensions of the week had suddenly become too much for the heavens to bear up and that they suddenly let go. The political scenario appearing confusing,with celebrations on one side and mire on the other it has been difficult to predict where things are heading. It's testing times for TN politics - will it

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-90611447737535619492011-05-14T16:52:00.003+05:302011-05-14T20:04:10.680+05:30

A certain amount of inspiration is needed in everyone's life at every instant. This is a time when we can do with some ourselves. To that end I was searching for something I can do to give me a boost and I picked on this book of American woman columnists. A very interesting breed of persistent women, many of whom made it into the industry during the world war II when dearth of males made it

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-61952917789538133602011-05-11T14:23:00.002+05:302011-05-11T14:32:08.507+05:30

After many days I got a phone call from a friend. We know each other since childhood but went about our own lives and very recently got back in touch with each other. It is such a pleasure to see someone you knew as a school kid looking so mature and shouldering huge responsibilities. The devil cannot help but sit on my shoulder and prod me to feel once again a little twinge on comparing my own

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-48984665728332455682011-05-06T10:28:00.005+05:302011-05-11T14:23:45.511+05:30

It has become a fixation with me to complete reading Ponniyin Selvan. Reading five volumes of what appeared as a serial in a magazine in the 1950s (first time ) is not a joke I am beginning to realise. But the grip of history on our minds is amazing and I am totally fascinated by this tale of the cholas...The story flows but in fits and starts and there are long pauses and descriptive passages to

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-87716852385225863132011-04-28T17:28:00.003+05:302011-04-29T17:33:54.588+05:30

Barely recovering from watching Il Postino... what a tribute to poets and poetry... It will take time for me to recover from this film enough to write about it. THE STORYFor those who have not seen the film... The Poet Pablo Neruda is in exile and takes off from his native country, Chile, to stay in an italian island until the ban on his entry is lifted. Most of the people in the island are

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-32079181152765334792011-04-22T12:42:00.006+05:302011-05-28T16:03:24.862+05:30

Today (22 April 2011). There are two photographs of Cat island in the pages of the Hindu. they look like the before and after pictures in a VLCC advert, only reversed! The before is a lush green lake area with many winged visitors, egrets, pond herons etc, the after is the aftermath of a oil slick wash up. A pathetic grey dirty landscape more sickening for its monotony of texture than absence of

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-76778334594988685312011-04-20T22:44:00.007+05:302011-05-28T16:03:24.864+05:30

A swift look at our feathered friends on a summer evening. We were lucky to catch sight of Egrets, Herons, and Moorhens flaunting their summer plumage and gathered in groups enjoying the greenery. Some summer flowers add life to our balcony...! Too bad the birds flew away when I got close... I had to make haste and shootthem when it was still possible, which explains why some pics are blurred!

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-7510122968156119272011-04-18T17:20:00.003+05:302011-04-18T17:36:01.179+05:30

Sign, an art show conducted by a group of fourteen young artists at Indigo and Laburnum art galleries in Cholamandalam Artists Village, Chennai... draws to a close today. The artists have taken a fresh approach to conveying the signs of conflict in life today. Predominantly influenced by the metro and its intrusion into our minds, the artists have tried to capture in images this very intrusion

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-38310520685557433362011-04-07T16:52:00.003+05:302011-04-10T09:43:45.063+05:30

The media is being kept on its toes now. What with the Fukushima disaster just about setting new standards of what can be called a disaster, totally displacing the media from the scams and the election manifestos, walked in Anna Hazare completely captivating media and websites with his fast for the Lok Pal bill. Very soon it is predicted that they will drift towards the cricket fever. Not even

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-14678274886357021042011-04-06T22:01:00.004+05:302011-04-06T22:15:06.539+05:30

Workout in my friend's gym - music playing loud - mixture of rock songs from the 1980s... one song that I have not heard in over ten years goes.. 'Riders on the Storm... There's a Killer on the Road' and the whole mood is that of a traveller driving down a highway in the dark of the night with a swirling rain storm raging... I was marvelling at how the words conjure up an image of darkness and

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-70205492107496746752011-04-05T12:31:00.004+05:302011-04-05T12:45:40.470+05:30

I collapsed after my attempt at translating the Hollow Men. It was a poem that affected me deeply when I first read it many years ago and I wanted to see how it sounded in Tamil. At first it was a great thrill to form the phrases in Tamil, look for a way to represent the imagery and ask friends for their critical comments, but later it has thrown open a whole branch of thought. Should anyone at

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-35236268753325474992011-03-28T10:58:00.009+05:302011-04-01T08:32:43.968+05:30

I have attempted to translate this (not at all sure whether I can do justice )... First version...THE HOLLOW MEN -By T.S. Eliot. (1888 - 1965) - American born; arguably the most influential poet writing in English in the 20th century. I We are the hollow menWe are the stuffed menLeaning togetherHeadpiece filled with straw. Alas!Our dried voices, whenWe

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-48638722940184650952011-03-24T23:35:00.002+05:302011-03-24T23:49:55.020+05:30

Perhaps in a move to dynamise the art scene in Chennai, there are a huge number of exhibitions going on in chennai - Paintings sculpture, installations etc... Today I visited two expos - one at Ashvita and the other at Lalit Kala Academy. It was strangely moving to see the art objects. The Ashvita one was a bit disappointing because the catalogue showed some works which were not in the gallery --

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-48743331744126568322011-03-24T23:28:00.003+05:302011-03-24T23:32:06.047+05:30

Dear Blog readers... Thank you all for reading and pondering on what may seem like a disconnected appeal to something in you that does not know why it is being summoned... The last post was written after feeling especially tired at one of the usual happenings in life - when one thread comes to an end and you have to pick up your suitcases and move on to find the next. Sometimes when this happens,

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-31141657751200060672011-03-21T18:33:00.004+05:302011-03-21T18:36:48.548+05:30

Life eats away into you little by little until suddenly one day you find you are lagging behind, gazing at what might have been and with absolutely no energy to make reparations. Wonderful new things seem to happen only in novels or in other people's lives. that too only occasionally. When a change thus is thrust on you, when you are younger you only felt a freedom but with age and the eating

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-10063535468977136882011-03-19T00:51:00.005+05:302011-03-19T21:50:57.425+05:30

(Translation comes after the english poem)I want you to knowone thing.You know how this is:if I lookat the crystal moon, at the red branchof the slow autumn at my window,if I touchnear the firethe impalpable ashor the wrinkled body of the log,everything carries me to you,as if everything that exists,aromas, light, metals,were little boatsthat sailtoward those isles of yours that wait for me.Well,

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-91002921273809951992011-03-15T08:48:00.006+05:302011-03-17T21:20:50.633+05:30

User Rating:6.5 /10(70 votes)A Walk My eyes already touch the sunny hill.going far ahead of the road I have begun.So we are grasped by what we cannot grasp;it has inner light, even from a distance-and charges us, even if we do not reach it,into something else, which, hardly sensing it,we already are; a gesture waves us onanswering our own wave...but what we feel is the wind in our

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-68602858945995150092011-03-08T08:17:00.005+05:302011-03-08T08:39:39.591+05:30

There was a time when escaping into the frivolous cost one exactly nothing. The days when one could do that are gone. The world and its warring fragments push their noses into one's life in an unending onslaught.There is no escape from this onslaught, for one can only protest it or do nothing. A protest or any action invariably leads you into a tangle and doing nothing into a merciless limbo

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-47724277057835622372011-01-13T12:26:00.002+05:302011-05-28T15:53:06.275+05:30

Sikkil Gurucharan today literally has the crowds swaying to his tune. He started his career at age six and now, in his early thirties, he is much sought after. From child artiste to full-blown professional and crowd-puller: what a transition! But he feels differently, ‘for me there has been no real transition in those terms, though of course the musical sense has deepened! I like to feel I am in

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-18930501204207140962011-01-13T12:24:00.001+05:302011-05-28T15:53:42.919+05:30

Subhiksha Rangarajan is a multifaceted artist: performing artist, painter and writer all rolled into one. Having started early, she is deep into different genre of music, even at age 22! In her concert for Karthik Fine Arts, she was using her abilities to the fullest and spun out exquisite strains of Abhogi, Bhairavi and Pantuvarali. Accompanying her on violin was another young talent, Akkarai

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-44107666430110524162011-01-13T12:23:00.002+05:302011-05-28T15:54:22.670+05:30

Rigour helps gain dance versatilityJanuary 8th, 2011 Shubashree Desikan Priya Murle recalls the roundedness of her training at ShriBharatalaya, under Guru Sudharani Raghupati. Apart from dance, they were taught music, Sanskrit and theory of dance. ‘Our Sanskrit master also told us many stories; after all, dance is visual story-telling! For five years, I only did adavus, much later came solo

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-35095807195376615292011-01-13T12:22:00.000+05:302011-05-03T09:58:44.901+05:30

Yesudas, remains a lion on stage By Shubashree Desikan Jan 09 2011 Dr K.J.Yesudas’ concert at Bharat Kalachar was an amazing feat, so much so that the grand lady, Mrs Y.G.Parthasarathy compared him to a lion emerging from a cave. The versatile singer has been given the Alvas Virasat award at Mangalore. A few years earlier, he had requested the Kerala Government to leave him out of the contention

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-80409407876483956612011-01-13T12:21:00.001+05:302011-05-03T09:58:44.904+05:30

‘Faith in destiny paved my way’January 3rd, 2011 Shubashree Desikan Innovation was known to be Dr M. Balamuralikrishna’s style even in the 1970s. ‘I love the new,’ he says, in reply to the question, ‘how do you tackle modernity?’ He continues, ‘Change is inevitable and unstoppable, and I always embrace it. Technology has so many new uses, like recording systems, mikes, computers and so on; we do

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-77310063004419219212011-01-13T12:19:00.002+05:302011-05-28T15:56:00.665+05:30

Present perfect, agrees Aruna December 26th, 2010 Shubashree Desikan Aruna Sairam’s unique, powerful singing draws people by the thousands today. When and how did this growth happen? She says, ‘this was a very slow process. First I had very small audiences, used to perform in smaller concert halls. In fact, I collected my audience one by one. I always tried to go back and assess my performance.

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-39973285201757146312011-01-13T12:16:00.003+05:302011-05-28T15:55:20.823+05:30

Respect all, especially the elderly By Shubashree Desikan Dec 22 2010 At Parthasarathi swamy sabha, that Monday, the violin brothers, Mysore Manjunath and Nagaraj were exploring the scope of the duet to the fullest. Framing the pace to their portrayal of Sankarabharanam, Saroja Dhala Netri, was Tiruvarur Bakthavatsalam on the mirudhangam. It was hard to separate the tune from the beat as the two

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-52591721385656957852010-12-24T09:57:00.003+05:302010-12-24T10:02:42.965+05:30

The chennai international film festival just concluded. A plethora of films from various countries spread out over two weeks. Vying with this was the Chennai music festival for which I was commissioned to write a few pieces. I would have managed this and the usual work demands but most worryingly, mother was unwell. Something that brings things into sharp focus is illness. What is more important

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-50559788362837146892010-12-08T13:21:00.004+05:302010-12-08T13:31:54.651+05:30

There is a collection of essays about Amitav Ghosh (Amitav Ghosh - a critical companion) which has been edited by Tabish Khair. After a long gap, I am back in touch with Ghosh's work. The book promises to be a good read which will throw insights into this writer's novels and essays which are born of this curious mix of history, anthropology and fiction. It is fascinating to see experts analyse

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-18248252966590458812010-11-24T10:56:00.003+05:302010-11-24T11:13:34.778+05:30

A friend from my college days passed away recently. I had not been in touch with him for years - over ten - and got to hear from him very recently and that too, after knowing that he was terminally ill and was fighting to stay alive. A cold sort of empty feeling is what surrounds me when I think of it. His family, loved ones, children... it seems unfair. Yes I know life is not fair. It has never

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-103814115770285052010-11-15T20:10:00.002+05:302010-11-15T20:16:23.287+05:30

why does one not write ? It's a very very good question isn't it... but one which has no easy answer, or perhaps there just is not point in answering this. between the nameless formless darkness of the undefined present and the vision of having it out in words, there is only a painful feeling that something must be said, if not for the benefit of the onlookers, then for oneself. Naturally the

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-4659436721279542682010-10-25T09:43:00.002+05:302010-10-25T09:50:13.966+05:30

There was a festival of traditional dramatic forms organised at Purisai near Vandavasi last weekend. It was a complete treat for any theatre fan...Some high points in the show:Muruga Bupathi's - Miruga Vidhushagam was absolutely stunning in its imagery and well thought out content... it was a comment on the stranglehold of consumerism on people which acts through a mixture of greed and lack of

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-51685541230752166132010-10-22T02:38:00.003+05:302010-10-22T02:46:27.406+05:30

As a nature lover I could not help being moved by my visit to Manohar Devadoss's exhibition. There were about 32 paintings featured there, most of them painted in the last three years. The paintings were in a realistic style. The colours and proportions were so carefully done that the paintings transported the viewer into another world. The stags under a bent tree and butterflies in blue

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-16100192280694176832010-09-21T11:53:00.002+05:302010-09-21T11:54:37.495+05:30

This was published in the New Indian Express (19 September 2010, Sunday) in the Readright Section.Fractured marriage crossed with a star Shubashree DesikanFirst Published : 19 Sep 2010 09:20:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 17 Sep 2010 07:04:58 PM ISTSecrets and Sins by Jaishree Misra:It is no mean feat to whip out a story of about a hundred thousand words that hangs together and holds the interest of

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-39744177137363972082010-08-14T10:39:00.003+05:302011-05-03T09:55:37.246+05:30

This review was published in The New Indian Express; Readright section; 8 August 2010.

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-54739788871754474692010-06-26T10:13:00.007+05:302010-07-01T17:00:57.358+05:30

Though I am unable to state definitely, let me try to guess what these birds are by consulting the birdman. Those of you - readers - who may know are welcome to add your comments - This bird was about 20 cm - Is this a female BLUE ROCK THRUSH?This bird you see below was on the bough of a tree just above my head. We had parked within a plantation to study the birds that were flying about and I

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-29269005124281522092010-06-22T15:10:00.005+05:302010-06-22T15:29:32.475+05:30

Clouds were floating about noiselessly seeming menacing in the distance and misty when close. Our visit was full of beauty and a dynamic silence. Strangely, I felt as if I breathed in quanta of unclassified knowledge along with gulps of the cold, misty, pure, clean air. There was a curious self-transforming magic there, I realised later. But alongside drinking in this intoxicating presence, I

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-10399014166196498962010-06-21T14:35:00.006+05:302010-06-21T14:51:38.775+05:30

Fresh Tea LeavesFresh Leaves being Taken for steamingSteaming of Tea LeavesSteamed Leaves are Ground to form Small ThreadsGround Leaves are collected and moved to a Roasting Machine Ground Leaves Being transported to RoasterWeight-Sorting by a Centrifugal Method - Grades of Tea being collectedGrading by Weight in ProgressRoasted Tea Leaves - Sorted by size quality but not in colourLast stage of

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-85428184082849706792010-06-07T11:53:00.005+05:302010-06-07T12:04:40.751+05:30

The Scar - is an autobiographical novel penned by Dr KA Gunasekaran, Tamil Scholar and Theatre Activist. You can find on this page my review of the novel and a part of the interview with the author - Published in The New Indian Express - Sunday, 6 June 2010.

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-89364188097825309382010-05-25T09:18:00.007+05:302010-05-25T09:38:47.843+05:30

An interview I did of the authors of "Brothers in Arms" -- the second in a five-part history of the mughal empire in India.The review of the book "Brothers in Arms" was also published alongside. You can see a print below.

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-32852962897345341962010-05-21T18:11:00.003+05:302010-05-21T21:32:48.854+05:30

நேற்று மாலை இலங்கை கவிஞர் பானுபாரதி அவர்களின் “பிறத்தியாள்” கவிதை தொகுப்பு வெளியீட்டு விழாவில் நண்பர்களை சந்திக்க நேர்ந்தது. கறுப்பு பிரதிகளின் புது வெளியீடு... கவிதைகளை பற்றி கவின் மலர், யாழினி முனுசாமி, சுகுணா திவாகர், வ கீதா, மற்றும் பிரபஞ்சன் கருத்துக்களை வழங்கினர். இதில் மிகச்சிறப்பாக இருந்தது கீதா அவர்களின் பேச்சுதான். பொதுவாக ஸ்ரீலங்காவை பற்றி அவருக்கு தெரிந்த விஷயங்களையும், இலக்கியத்தில்

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-37878552323151048932010-05-03T21:53:00.006+05:302010-07-02T00:41:48.602+05:30

A new batch of journalists were all set to march their baby feet down the road to democracy, today, as the 2010 graduates from Chennai’s famous J school - Asian College of Journalism received their certificates from none other than Dr Binayak Sen, at the year’s convocation ceremony.Dr Binayak Sen’s work in alternative healthcare in Chattisgarh has taken healthcare to the poorest of the poor in

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-62849150996725673032010-04-16T18:56:00.001+05:302010-04-16T19:11:12.946+05:30

Kite and Sparrow There is a story you may have heard before, of how a tiny sparrow won a race against an kite. But the end of the story is usually not narrated and I have tried to do this here. To summarise the first part …Once Kite and Sparrow got into an argument about which of them can fly the highest. Though the answer seemed obvious to most onlookers, Sparrow was persistent in challenging

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-5898937855885477322009-11-22T11:45:00.003+05:302011-05-28T16:05:12.824+05:30

PAINTED STORKS AT PULICAT lAKE

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-5038332346889272142009-11-11T21:56:00.010+05:302011-05-28T16:03:07.992+05:30

This is the Pond HeronThis is the Cattle EgretMore EgretsIn the Background - Some Little Grebes, also known as Dabchicks. In the Foreground can be seen a few black polythene garbage bags and one or two birds that we will see closeup a little way down the page.This bird is something that caused me to hunt around in books to discover it's name.. see the next three pictures as it comes into

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-12697171119072449392009-11-10T09:17:00.003+05:302009-11-10T09:21:25.284+05:30

The Scarlet Minivet: Minivets are smallish birds - a little smaller than a sparrow. This one is called the scarlet minivet. To the eye the colours seem to be closer to black and vermillion than scarlet itself... when it flutters to settle down on a twig or rises up, it presents the most enchanting picture. It's not easy to see, as perhaps it is shier than many other birds, but a beautiful

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-59667153733110470082009-11-09T15:36:00.002+05:302009-11-09T15:42:12.103+05:30

The Bird for the Day is the Indian Grey Hornbill: See picture below -It is the most curious bird because looking at it you will wonder if it is a remnant from the age of the dinos that somehow tricked evolution and developed into a bird...Okay, this statement is factually incorrect - a poetic license to describe the clumsy flappy flight of the Hornbill, which when accompanied by its cry which is

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-85351510741143475982009-11-08T16:01:00.005+05:302011-05-28T16:03:24.866+05:30

The Purple Sunbird - This iridescent male bird has this amazing colour during the mating season, other times it is not so colourful and has a plainer yellowish body. The female apparently does not undergo this transformation. You can spot this bird by its long and slightly curved-towards-the-edge beak, and it is usually flitting about in shrubby flowering plants. It is closely related to the

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-24401950550661365602009-09-25T13:31:00.002+05:302009-09-25T13:57:59.193+05:30

A Review of Unnai-pol OruvanFirst it was god who was declared dead, then the author and then the guru... so finally it is the day of the critic!!!What do I mean by this? Certainly not that everything depends on The Critic's whims and fancies, rather that films are finally forcing people to look inwards and think ... no ... THINK!!!!Even as I watched A Wednesday, I was very confused - I was

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-38153096402006770842009-09-13T14:48:00.002+05:302009-09-13T15:11:48.032+05:30

We live in a country which is really young, in world timescales, a young democracy. Yet, already it seems that independance has left only the taste of ashes, the odour of hypocrisy and the quelling suffocation of the pillars of democracy by greedy power structures...Ok, what am I trying to say here? To cut the crap and come to the point, this short essay is a reaction to the issue that is

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-57930865150129668692009-09-06T14:57:00.003+05:302009-09-06T15:10:03.940+05:30

Sing Along has released their album of songs for young people under the title"Peppy Songs."The CD includes a set of eleven songs, with some famous old numbers like "Kookaburra" and "ABCD" as well as new ones. Lively tunes that are a mixture of the old and the new carry these songs. Some of the songs have an undertone of sentimental favourites of yesteryear like "My bonnie lies over the Ocean..."

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-89136427558023722802009-08-24T18:05:00.010+05:302009-08-24T23:01:31.777+05:30

Weird Angles - 1Weird Angles - 2Weird Angles - 3Brown Pigeon Love-child With Webbed Feet - a mite LonelyOh-Oh - Not So Lonely After All...Night Bloom - JasmineA Blooming Creeper?Vodka Rain on Jasmine Street!!

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-16219820709122594712009-08-24T12:28:00.002+05:302009-08-24T12:32:36.085+05:30

What is a Lie but truth facing a mirror, and what is Truth but a lie viewed from within?unconscious of the seekers, reality and it's two faces move on to the next debacle!

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-28925688025121582472009-08-20T16:25:00.002+05:302009-08-20T16:27:29.539+05:30

I will develop this post a bit later at leisure, but to merely mention the events I liked...1. Songs of MS, DKP and MLV at Hamsadhwani, by Prathibha, Latha, Lavanya, Sujatha, Saindhavi and Subhiksha, on 15 Aug which made me so proud of being a chennai-woman.2. a film on madras called madras the split city which shows the various different groups in the city.. usually we only think of north

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-13446236554433424382009-08-13T12:29:00.004+05:302009-08-13T12:47:56.038+05:30

The day - 12 August 2009, Memorable for being Kamal Haasan's fiftieth year in Cinema since Kala-th-thur Kannama.Dr KJ Jesudas and group's concert at Kamarajar Arangam was a lovely beginning to the evening, jointly anchored by Uma PAdmanabhan and Shruthi Kamal Haasan.As Uma Padmanabhan concluded after the concert- it made everyone forget the pains of today's living , even the swine flu scare and

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-39061868006313372062009-08-02T08:36:00.006+05:302011-05-28T15:57:12.811+05:30

Event: Total Solar Eclipse in some parts of India - July 2009We flocked to the beaches to watch the partial eclipse and to see how people responded to it. There were crowds on every beach and many of them were very eager to show that they did not believe in false fears related to eclipses that seem to pass down generations. It was remarkable that some pregnant women turned up at thsi even to show

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-83366674566313259532009-07-29T08:54:00.016+05:302011-05-28T15:57:44.578+05:30

Chennai-vaasis You must have seen the Royapuram Fishing Harbour in all your years at Chennai!! Well, I hadn't and here are some wonderful images that lodged in my mind!A VIEW OF THE CHURCHDid you love the song Vaazha meen? Well, then! Here is the Kombu Thurukkai - looks big like a whale -( Remember the words - Indha Thirumanat-tha Nada-t-thi vai-k-ka Thurukkai Vaalu Annan-go!). Just one of these

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-58503488239187144702009-07-06T16:12:00.005+05:302009-07-19T13:57:00.659+05:30

It is a never ending debate whether personal choice must bow to societal compulsions.. I do not think Nadodigal addresses this question at all. It is about quite another issue - of there being no freedom without responsibility... In a chat show on TV Suhasini also quizzed the director about the last scene when the girl is shown as being slapped. That is an unfortunate pattern that films in TN

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-90315436912836486202009-07-06T16:06:00.003+05:302009-07-06T16:12:20.051+05:30

My Bonsai Projects Come to a CloseFor lassitude or lack of time, I declare that I will only grow normal plants in our balcony in future! My Bonsai posts come to a close with this...

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-2738014830842780692009-07-05T19:29:00.006+05:302011-05-03T09:55:58.281+05:30

Published under the title Grace under firein Life (Businessline) of The Hindu Group of publications; 19 Dec 2008. Book Title: Umrao Jan Ada The Courtesan of Lucknow, By Mirza Muhammad Hadi Ruswa (1857-1931) Translators: Khushwant Singh and M.A. HusainiPublisher: Orient Paperbacks Price: Rs 175Reviewed by Shubashree Desikan(see also link - http://www.blonnet.com/life/2008/12/19/stories/

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-64729134671383768282009-06-28T13:53:00.003+05:302009-06-28T17:18:10.268+05:30

Yesterday we went for a film - my mother, Peer and I. This was Naadodigal, a film that we were much tempted to see because it promised a totally fresh viewpoint of cinematic life.. here are some thoughts on the same...My first reaction was to think that this is a very superficial story - but later, on thinking deeper, I felt that there is a point - that love and marriage in a society like ours

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-86767528558632871382009-06-15T08:54:00.002+05:302011-05-03T09:56:25.015+05:30

An emigrant’s journey through historySubhashree Desikan First Published : 14 Jun 2009 10:26:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 14 Jun 2009 12:16:14 PM ISTMG Vassanji, author of A Place Within: Rediscovering India, comes from East Africa and now lives in Toronto with his family. He was born in the port city of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania. His grandparents had emigrated to East Africa and settled there. When

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-80658103260729588332009-06-11T20:09:00.003+05:302009-06-11T20:20:25.490+05:30

Yes, Chennai opens out to literature, theatre groups, koothu, folk dance, sculpture and films... what used to be the pursuit of intellectuals hastening in a semi-daze to Delhi or Bangalore after their dreams of rivalling Hussein's handiwork is now open to all...The greatest permanent fixtures to have taken place are the two statues installed around Gemini circle... The one on Kalari Attam (which

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-58094538126679109482009-06-09T00:11:00.005+05:302009-06-10T14:24:33.361+05:30

Screenwriting Workshop Ends on a Positive Note:A nice article in The Hindu summarised the close of this workshop so well (see 4 June 2009; Chennai pages). I liked this picture below and have my own pet caption for it - The Ten Faces of Today's Cinema.Look at their faces, where have you seen these faces before?Have fun identifying who's who... Until we meet again....S

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-75686794560693932232009-05-27T15:13:00.003+05:302009-05-27T15:33:38.223+05:30

Three Quarks daily has announced awards for top blog posts in the fields ofScience; Literature and Arts; Politics and Philosophy.Here is aportion from the announcement about the procedure they plan to follow:"....About a month before the prize is to be announced we will solicit nominations of blog entries from our readers. The nominating period will last approximately one to two weeks. At the end

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-36284678445421851242009-05-25T10:22:00.006+05:302009-05-25T10:34:54.982+05:30

I did not know until recently, as perhaps many others reading this post, that many "greats" among the carnatic musicians of yesteryear had used the Piano as an accompaniment to their singing.Anil Srinivasan is a Champion ( the Tinkling Star among Carnatic Musicians) of the cause of the Carnatic Piano.For more about the above, and Anil's vison and plans read the story from The Hindu (24 May 2009).

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571206932774065116.post-52856264061698676032009-05-22T11:28:00.000+05:302009-05-22T11:36:53.523+05:30

This is a post on Pride and Prejudice, the film. It was such a delight to watch this film and feel Jane Austen's brilliant imagination at work, bringing to life each of her characters and with them the joys of the untamed English countryside.Poems and other literary tributes have immortalised this landscape, yet it was like falling in love with beauty all over again. In her skilful crafting of

Shubashreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590544161689976057noreply@blogger.com0