Malayalam TV Channels

At Rock's place, the TV is more of a decorative electronic piece that is seldom used the way it is intended to be used. Not to blame it, when we have the complete entertainment package that goes by the name RockMon.

Nevertheless, there are occasional switching ON's and thumb exercises. Barring a few good channels (Discovery, CN, Amrita) the rest are all thoroughly Boring ! Between 6 and 10 there is no stupid malayalam channel worth watching. The so-called "reality" music program on the first ever Malayalam Satellite Channel has drooped to such boring levels that the thumb gets auto-reflexes when the blue-painted screen appears. It is a unanimous voice that says "the quality of contestants is far better compared to last year's ". But then, if there is no variety in show-packaging how can you expect the intellectual common Malayali man to sit in front of the screen for an hour at a stretch ?

Let me not talk about the "politically" operated, "cinematically" directed Malayalam channel. Having procured such a close-to-heart name - the literal name - of the channel, they have failed miserably to give any sort of entertaining or informative programs to the viewers. A few programs that stand out are Fresh N Hits and Hello Good Evening. HGE used to be far better in the initial days, but now it is just okay.. Forget the Palee-spear-headed programs. He is still in a fantasy world. Gandharva-Sangeetham -- total crap. It is so pitiable to see talented singer Srinivas sitting in the judge panel. His time should be used for better things - for instance, singing! The song from Dost - Manju pole - still remains favorite to many a person..

There is this Satellite channel, that goes by the name of a Star. Isnt that an anomaly in itself :D

I'm forced to watch this channel, thanks to mom, from 7 to 7.30. A soap by the name Mazhayariyaathe. It is interesting :P But then there is this SP madam who is leaner than a police laathi. How did she become an SP at such a young age?

(But then, what is your problem. She is the SP...period !)

This channel, gets alive at 11PM, with the long-running comedy-scenes program. Follows the "pazhayathum puthiyathumaaya paattukal korthinakkiya" music program. The comedy program doesnt have a commercial break :P No sponsors ? Good for us :D

Then there is this channel, which is the best thing to happen to Malayalam TV industry - keep aside the "exclusive" coverages to "Amma's programs" during the News Hour. Super Star was a reality music show on this channel, with popularity going sky-high. Stephen Devassy is a priced contribution of this channel - alright he was talented, but the channel showcased him in the right manner. Today, he plays in stage shows of Hariharan and A.R.Rahman ! But again, the channel has its own share of soap-offerings. So most of the prime time is gone down the drain. And for Heaven's sake, pls stop those stupid dubbed movies on Sundays. At least spare the songs, and let them be played in the original :(

Tail:

1. Sony kept telling "25 May se Badal Rahe Hai Hum". Ppl (or rather, I) kept thinking it could be some new looks, new logo... But phew... Its only a new set of soaps and then the game show 10 Ka Dum. The sale of Vicks cough tablets will go up, with Sallu bhai requiring a truck load of those after each episode :D

2. Zee TV has this super natural dance competition program by the name Dance India Dance. Talent in abundance. Keep aside the drama, the grand salute, the emotions, and it is an amazing dance performance by all the contestants !

3. Something about the ads... Seeing all these umbrella ads, I keep wondering.. Doesnt it rain in other parts of the country ? Or is the umbrella industry in India monopolised by brands from our tiny state ? Need to find out !

അറിഞ്ഞോ ?!

ഇനി മലയാളത്തിലും ബ്ലോഗ്ഗാം.
ബുഹഹഹ

അടിക്കുറിപ്പ് : മലയാളം അറിയാത്ത വായനക്കാര്‍ സദയം ക്ഷമിക്കുക :-)

Where's the land ?

I'm concerned about the ever increasing tree felling and the steady pace of constructions in cities blowing up every piece of land. But I asked this question, not in one of these contexts...

6 in the evening, these days, is reserved for rain. Leave from office either at 5.30, or past 7 and find yourself like a wet cat. This is what happened yesterday. The result was a lil different... I became a wet rat :D

A glance at the sky from Eejipura signal towards Domlur wasnt pleasant. It looked as if one of those black holes came down from outer space and landed upon earth.

Racing against nature is no good.. An attempt is all I made.. But I lost. Rain came down in bucket-full drops. And I took refuge at a shop shed. The shop looked like one of those village kinds, wooden shutter nostalgic ones...

The shelter was 8x4 sft. And there were already 2 bikes, 5 guys and a dog. I found my place and settled down, enjoying the rain droplets in the yellowish headlights of passing vehicles...

There were a few crazy bikers - both ladies and gents - who dared to go against the rain....all wet. I opted not to join them.

15 mins into the rain, and the road disappeared. It was water everywhere. My dry land disappeared too.. What felt like rain falling directly into my socks , was in fact , muddy ground water trying to dip me in.

I discovered an interlock brick.. Tapped it to stability, and stepped over.

I felt like a triumphant warrior on the war-field.. Wanted to raise my helmet in pride. But the helmet was still on, to save that part of the body from being drenched.

The victorious posture didnt last for long. Soon water level popped up, and the brick disappeared under thick brown stream... The fate of my shoe wasnt any different..

Bro called.. Nothing was audible.. Then he msg-ed.. Where are you ? Are you alright ? Should I come ? Reckoning his worries, I msged back saying I'm alive and safe. Another msg from him "The junction ahead is flooded. Ride only if u see land. Follow a vehicle"

30 mins passed by, and the shelter was empty. Rain had subsided and ppl moved on.. It was just me and the dog..

Already fully drenched, there is not much of point waiting for sunshine. In this part of the world, that is near impossible thing at 7.30 in the evening. So I decided to go.

Not even 100 m into the road, there was a barricade placed. And ahead of it was something that reminded me of the Zeus Canal (when was the last time i visited Zeus Canal?). Following a vehicle in the front seemed the best thing to do..

For a change, the usually busy roads are empty (and flooded). And the usually unused roads are full of vehicles (and less of water).

The rest of the distance (close to 4km) was travelled in 1st gear or the 2nd. Losing balance while at this speed was a dangerous act, coz I would be creating an opportunity to paint my pants brown, till knee level..

Goin along all unfamilar roads, squeezin past numerous stalled vehicles, and helping myself thru the rains, I reached a familiar road... Thereforth, it was ascent, and flood was a thing of the past.

At home, RockMon was all stunned to see RockUnc, completely muddy :P

Tail:
1. Casualties : 1 pair of shoes, 1 laptop charger.
2. The bike is rocking !
3. I found a biker racing amidst stalled vehicles in the flood and almost banging into a residential gate. He had done so , to set foot on dry ground for balancing, not interested in wetting it :D
4. In the Zeus Canal was an auto, "parked" perpendicular at the middle of the road, apparently with a water-logged engine
5. Bin replied to one of my msgs "Eeeeshwarraa... Nee Marichooo!!!" :P

Disproportionate Dependency

No, I dint overhear that from a routine telecon. I coined it myself.

And this write-up has got nothing to do with any office matter. Nothing official about it.

(I think this was the punch line coined by Pepsi during 99 Cricket World Cup , when Coca Cola bagged the official sponsorship of the tourney. Smart indeed ! )

Back to the topic.

The other day, I was pondering on the dependency that we human beings have on gadgets. And in the list, undoubted winner of sorts is , the mobile phone. Close enough is the ubiquitous mp3 player. But then, thanks to technology, these things are built into one handy black tiny box which goes by the name mobile phone. Did you say camera ? For the amateurs who are not very particular about the image quality of the capture, but are more keen on the "moments", the camera in the mobile phone is the best mate.

Mobile phones are everywhere.. And most of the time in your pockets. And when you go to the terrace to dry your laundry, it follows.. It comes with you when you decided on a last minute shopping to get some onion, that should go into the boiling oil. And when you go to sleep, there it is, at the very easy convenient one-hand distance. (The one-hand distance is for safety aspects - not of the mobile, but of the user.. Heard of radiations ? )

When was the last time, you wished happy birthday to your friend, w/o an orkut or a mobile reminding you ?

When was the last time, you got up at 5 to go to pick a relative at rly station, all by yourself, and not courtesy the beep beeps of your mobile ?

Do we need a gadget to remind us all these things ? Is this a brain drain happening of a different kind ? Dont we already have all these capabilities built into ourselves ?

The answer is a bright big YES.

So here I am.. I no longer have any reminders in my phone (Okay, I dont call it a gadget. Soo may sue me). And I dont remember setting an alarm in it for getting up in the morning, in the recent past. And guess what.. I havent missed a single bill payment (yet).  Good going..

No thinking, and all gadgeting makes Jack a brain-less boy !

Tail:

1. The games that come free with Operating Systems are good ones, dont you think so ? Unlike the car/bike games, this one needs thinking ! I play minesweeper and freecell at work :P

2. Added sudoku to the list recently. It aint such a bad game, after all...

3. Off-topic. The new idea star singer is good! The one that finished recently s***ked BIG TIME!

New Song

Mos and Cat - Thottaal Pookkum..

Singer - Yasir.

Very nice !

Never Before In My Life...

I have seen people doing it..

And they seem to get a lot of pleasure out of it when they are done..

And I never expected Gasper to join the bandwagon..

What is in it that makes it so addictive ?

Why would Gasper travel all the distance, just to have his quota for the day ?

I made up my mind to try it myself.

So here I am..

In my room..

With Gasper's guidance..

My First Ever..

Sudoku !

45 minutes into the game, on the 2nd last page on The Hindu, and a crazy restless me threw the paper onto the bed. The "satisfaction" of having filled 3 numbers outcast the "frustration" of having left so many columns either unfilled, or erased and erased over and over again and totally disfigured. To Hell With Sudoku. Mathematics is never the cup of tea for an engineer. We always have Start->Run->calc. Hail Microsoft.

Tail:

1. Shortly after this "performance" Soorji offered his i-phone with a real silly simple Sudoku. It had hardly 5 or 6 numbers to be filled. Sudoku for dummies. I cleared that. Phew.. The enjoyment I had.

2. I decided to pursue this game further and master it :P

3. I find it very much similar to the Minesweeper. That is Start->Run->winmine :)

4. Coming are the sudoku days. Ithu mikavaarum ennem kondeyy povuu :-S

OPT - Movie Review: 2 Harihar Nagar

It was after such a long gap that the OPT-ians got together. 6 of us. And we pledged unanimously at the gathering that we would fight recession. The meticulous anti-inflation programs spearheaded by Geo has now has gone to such extents that the inflation number dropped to ZERO and then going further south-bound. With such a track record, fighting recession would be no big deal. The team has decided to join Kungfu Classes to fight recession.

Forum was very much deserted. Not even window-shoppers... The IT guyz of Bangalore are either toiling their nights in office to hold on to their jobs, or are busy looking for one to replace the lost job. Anyways, getting a ticket was no big deal.

Soorji at the counter. Rat and Bin behind (for moral support - and dont even think of any financial support!)

Soorji : 6 tkts

Boy: 720, Sir

Rat: All in one row please... Aaah.. back seats !

Boy: ( a stare )

Soorji hands over two 500 rupee notes, collects the change, counts, and leaves..

The moral supporters follow..

Boy: Sir, tickets ?

We thought it would be a good idea to have the tickets in hand, coz that is some proof that we watched the movie.. It may also be handy at the cinema hall entrance :-$

Meanwhile, Sow &  Gas joined us. They had gone to keep the helmets into the cloak room. This is one facility that comes free of cost. And we make best use of it :-P

Inside the hall, just the farthest 3 rows filled up - hardly 40 people. May be because its a weekday, and may be because the movie had been running for quite a few number of days there.

The movie started off with nice graphics while the title was being shown. And the character introductions (as if we dont know them!) was also good. Its about the friends meeting after 10 long years, for the betrothal of Ashokan. And as always, they get into trouble - thanks to their "youthfulness" and "need for adventure" :-D

The expectation levels set for the sequel of a block-buster movie is very high. This is a boon and bane at the same time. The director has done a good job to meet the fan-expectations. The comic bits are good. The songs remain the same but with a modern touch. There is a bonus track as well towards the end. A decent one-time watch.

Tail:

1. New Punch-lines, adapted from the movie - "Oru aadu kuthaan vannaal enthu cheyyum" :P

2. Sand-Soo missed the train as they were too tired after their trip to native. Geo coined a phrase for them... The Travelling Sand-Soo Syndrome :-S

3. BTW, Soorji is Jim's replacement in Pluto. Not that Jim can be replaced by any other phenomenon on earth :-D

4. Geo almost fainted when he came to know we reached the theatre before 10.15PM! (the movie starts at 10PM :D )

5. Spaar diocle. Jagadeesh - " manja car kandappo kaakka aanennu karuthi erinjathaa.. chillu potteeennaa thonunney"

These Days I Am...

1. IRRITATED: at IPL and the "special appearance" of that chairman on TV every 5 minutes. Aaarghhh

2. INVOLVED: into too much of office work. An attempt to beat recession ? :P

3. STARVED: of any trips/movies/dances

4. LACKING: any imagination. A direct consequence of point 2 ?

5. CONFUSED: at how MTS can give 10,00,000 minutes of free talk time !

6. LAZY: to even clean my bike ! Phew !

7. WALKING: my way to office.. Walking is a good exercise, you know :D

8. WONDERING: when will this industry start recovering.

9. LISTENING: to Ayan-Vizhi Moodi. Kartik does it again !

10. SHIFTED: to a new office building - though the employer remains the same :P