The Curious Case of George R.R. Martin

Everything has to have a beginning. Even our universe has one though we are still figuring out how the mega event happened - at least in this dimension - to have a deeper understanding of the world we live in. Is it going to be a short primer on Astrophysics? Nay. 

4 years ago, my tryst with the famed and acclaimed Game of Thrones began when I watched the first few minutes of Season 1 Episode 1 where the almost immortal and dreaded White Walkers were shown and the epic theme music erupts like a fountain with the Da Vinci-esque settings announcing the cast. Like millions, I was not only glued to my seat but also hooked to it like the fisherman baiting a piscine with his fish hook. The arduous and fascinating journey commenced not only for the characters but also for me.

7 kingdoms. Plenty of kings, lords, knights and bastards. Magicians here and there. And the dazzling Dragons. GoT is indeed a perfect recipe for a very complex story from the mastermind GRRM. Though I have not yet read the books, I could still see shades of JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings kind of feel when it came to sketching out the extensive characters, several kingdoms and new languages to such an attention to detail. I was completely amazed and stunned by the spectacular level of intricacy he had given to each and every person, place and thing. 

Shredding the veil to pieces, GoT is nothing but a multi-layered and extremely complicated chess game where every individual tries to gain the upper hand by employing strategies and tactics to subvert their opposition - either single-handedly or by an alliance or by collusion to have a title shot at the Iron Throne using mostly (99.9999999%!) treacherous and deceitful means to satisfy and fulfill their objectives. But,one thing is rest assured. This is one chess tournament where Viswanathan Anand cannot even think to salvage a draw! The outright winner is.....No no no..It's neither Dany nor Snow but GRRM himself. More specifically, the victor ludorum has got to be the ultra bad GRRM present inside GRRM who is responsible for the wide spread butcheries and the rampant Butterfly effect prevalent in the GoT universe! Getting down to the brass tacks, it's like the Good GRRM tries to check mate the bad GRRM but the latter always has an ace up his sleeve to disturb the rhythm of the game.

Drugs. Booze. Incest. Rape. Nudity in all permutations and combinations - Frontal, Full-Frontal and Dorsal. Kids. Men. Girls. Ladies. Women. Not even old women and old men were spared when it came to explicitly bare their bodies onscreen. Likewise, only animal sex has not been shown in the series! Gays, Lesbians. What not! GoT is nothing short of free porn packaged with wars, conflicts and political schemings at the highest level!! Jokes apart. GoT is a classic example which can be shown as an useful learning tool to people to see the negative effects for themselves when a state or a country falls into a steep decadence of no return and how a society stinks to high heaven when lawlessness & power blind those who are in authority fixated only to their craving to holding on to their position instead of improving the lives of the people. I am not here to preach or lecture a moral lesson but the fact is that the majority people are usually like how the rulers are. When the head is not proper, you simply cannot complain about the tail!

As a kid, I had a strong inclination to beat Draco Malfoy black and blue whenever I used to devour HP. The same kind of feeling, if not magnified x100 times, I experienced when Joffrey strutted around the scenes like a prick and manhandled everything in sight. I felt the intense emotion to give him a tight hard slap that he would never forget in his life to blow off my steam. Luckily or unluckily for him, he was poisoned! 

As we are on the topic of poisoning, I am not sure what GRRM has with marriages. He is so obsessed with not giving us a proper wedding. It's either Red Wedding or Purple Wedding. The entire internet broke out into an unanimous frenzied tizzy when the only decent people on the show till then - The Starks were brutally murdered. I am waiting for the day when an episode would be titled "Happy Wedding" and an actual happy wedding takes place with no killings! 

Speaking of killings, none of the characters are spared - be it major or minor. Death wickedly smiles, laughs and patiently waits to embrace them at every step and turn the characters take. It seems like the sword of Damocles hangs above each and every one of them. Such is the extent of the deepest level of political subterfuge which has came out from the genius stables of GRRM. It was a really good thing that he wanted to be a writer. He would have given the cops a run for their money had he been a master criminal with such brains! 

Mentioning of master criminal, I am silently reminded of Sidney Sheldon. SS was not a fantasy writer but a fantastic weaver of fiction. When you analyze his writings, you could see a distinct pattern that will emerge from all of his books -Women are the protagonists. However, they are treated very cruelly and badly by men and the society. They are used as sex objects and ultimately become mentally and emotionally strong to rule the world! The pattern sounds familiar?? In GoT also, we find that the leading players are all women who were savagely toyed around by vicious and cold-blooded men as ragged doormats - be it the good Dany or the ruthless and merciless Cersei or the case hardened Stark kids. The chief hero of this epic saga could have been anyone amidst the many likes of machiavellian Little Finger, extremely logical and cool-headed Tyrion, King Slayer Jaime and our very beloved Jon Snow but GRRM focusses particularly on Cersei and Dany to sit on the coveted prize. However, it was really nauseatingly sickening and gut-churning moment for me when I had to watch Cersei (Yeah! She is extremely vile and bad) to take up the Walk of Atonement that literally lasted for eternity! with the Sept shouting 'Shame, Shame' with a tinkling of the bell. I was completely shell-shocked that the directors had given so much extra screen time for the scene to prolong to such an extent before Cersei was draped in her clothes when the same time could have been reserved for showcasing the dragons.

GRRM gives the magical touch by introducing the inhuman White Walkers and the fearsome Dragons as early as Season 1 to give us a sense of foreboding that the White Walkers would walk with their army of wights any time and also a strong bonding with the dragons who can decimate the wights with their fires. 'A Song of Ice and Fire' is indeed an apt title for the epic fantasy series that has really exploded like an active volcano ever since GoT had its first release in 2011. Conflicts, Violence, Cruelty, Barbarism, Revenge, Torture, Betrayal, Sex, Mind Games, Sorcery, Loyalty, Love, Friendship, Finding your Inner Strength - GRRM neatly packed a humdinger of a story that left everyone in tears and the whole social media to buzz like a busy bee for the next one year debating whether Snow was alive or dead when Jon Snow was snowed by his own brethren at the Night Watch when Season 5 ended on a dramatic note. Theories and speculations were travelling at a speed faster than light that would have left even Einstein scratching his head for the answer that was on the mental lips of the utterly shocked audience. Season 6 review is for another blog. So, I am not going to touch upon it now. 

With mega serial scripts like "Kolangal" and "Metti Oli" running for more than 1000 days, GoT is that prized picture perfect product by GRRM for any Indian Soap director to run the show not only for 1000 days but also for generations together without a break! I sincerely hope that GRRM doesn't sell his rights to any Indian mega serial producer but simply HODORS them!! 

Disclaimer

This blog is just my personal observation on the highly popular TV series GoT and its revered creator. All the opinions and perspectives are solely mine and mine alone with absolutely no intention whatsoever to defame anyone in anyway or any manner.  

Suicide Squad - Barking Karazieeee but a Complete Let Down

The expectations were sky high and as deep as the Mariana Trench when the first teaser of the Suicide Squad was released a year ago. Jared Leto was recognizably unrecognizable and stunningly indescribable along with his tattoos as The Clown Prince of Crime. With the subsequent tantalizing teasers and mind-blowing trailers, the anticipation for the movie was sprinting like an in form and red hot Usain Bolt and assured of an Olympic Gold Medal much before its screen openings. As with the colossal clash between the Batman and Superman proving to be a damp squib earlier in the year , Suicide Squad also commits a terrible suicide because of its inherent fundamental flaws.

Before delving deep into the fatal fractures that could have otherwise transformed this gang of worst people into something truly remarkable and extra ordinary,  let us see the positives. 

If Heath Ledger was the heart and soul of The Dark Knight as the devious and psychopathic Joker, then Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn really steals the limelight from Will Smith and everyone else. Her wacky mannerisms, uber cool attitude and rib-tickling nonchalant dialogue delivery are not only commendable but also clap-worthy. Suicide Squad would have been dull and boring affair without the pitch perfect casting of Margot Robbie as Quinn. She elevated the entire movie from the abyss of dismal hopelessness to a tolerable and wildly funny movie watching experience. Will Smith as Deadshot was bang on target, literally and figuratively, with his subdued nature as a caring father to his daughter and his penchant towards hitting the prey at WILL, pun intended! The rest of this wacko team were ably supported by El Diablo, Captain Boomerang and Killer Croc who had their roles justified with a meaningful purpose rather than being just another tag along. Oh...Wait...You did not tell us about our famed Joker. How can I forget THE JOKER? Unfortunately, David Ayer had forgotten him and Jared Leto's screen presence was barely noticeable for the efforts he had taken to make him as memorable as Heath Ledger. But, in the highly limited screen time, Jared Leto sizzled as the wild and deranged Joker who would go to any extremes to save his beloved Quinn from the obnoxious clutches of the blackmailing Waller.

So,what's not right with the movie?

Well. Suicide Squad is extremely decent in the first half but post-interval, it is complete mayhem. I know it's August but I still have to use only MAYhem here! Turning a blind eye to my poor joke again, be it the ostentatious and gaudy visual effects in the second half or the Enchantress's cacophonic plan to rule the world or the botched up screenplay, Suicide Squad was a disaster in making when it was being made. You really don't get to relate or feel for any of the characters - take for instance - El Diablo - His backdrop as to why he doesn't want to take part in the fight because of his past should have created a stirring effect in the audience but it simply fell flat. It was like a seeing a documentary where you are bombarded with facts and not emotions. In fact, the entire character introductions were simply "Here..I present to you.." kind of setting including how the Joker and Quinn became the Kind and the Queen of Gotham. It was rushed and hurried rather than the moment to set and settle for the scenes and characters to have a profound impact in the minds of the audience. It's not just that. The movie deals with a bunch of highly dangerous criminals who are forced to come together in case of any emergencies and all of a sudden, they are shown as Captain America! As good people. The transition is too fast to even think that they could be good people when it was briefly shown what they are actually capable of doing to the public prior to their arrests.  Also. not to mention were the deliberately placed hip songs which was constantly played in the background. For the first few minutes, it was perfectly jelling with the 'Karaziee' theme of the movie but later it became an ear sore and added to the already existing eye exasperation! 

Suicide Squad was extremely good in patches like the scene where Will Smith stood on a car and took upon the bad guys, pun intended again, single-handedly or the scene where he shoots on the dummy targets with precision that left the soldiers dumb founded. Maybe if they story had an solid foundation and not a run-of-the-mill treatment, Suicide Squad could have worked magic. Maybe, if the Joker had been given a substantial role to play after all the rave comments that were given of his performance prior to the film's release, Suicide Squad could have clicked well. It's all Maybes now.

PS:
I am not a Marvel advocate. You can check out my X-Men Apocalypse for further reference. I am a big time super hero movie fan who just wants good stories to be told by the timeless and exciting creations by the their creators.  

Foodie's World Tour Combo - A Visitor's Paradise!

Just when I thought of treating myself to a yet another luxuriant 'Delhi Highway' lunch @ a dirt cheap price of Rs. 199 , a bright green sign board caught my bespectacled eyes. New Yorker was offering their own lunch buffet. As I had already tried the delicious DH meal once, my tired legs automatically walked towards the entrance of New Yorker.

Since I have already been there at the New Yorker, I am taking the luxury to skip the lecture on their decor or the ambience or the service. My full focus is going to be only on the food and nothing but the food.

As I sat down in one of their twin-chaired table, the order taker promptly gave me the a la carte to cherry pick my dishes. I had already made up my mind that I was to shelve the menu card to the side on that particular day and taste their buffet menu for a change. In a matter of seconds, literally and figuratively, the waitperson brought me another menu card displaying the buffet options - Indian and World. It was a sit down buffet and there was a subset within them - Regular and Jain. 

Opting for a World Regular, I had the liberty to choose my dishes from the options available infront of me. Before placing the final order, I had requested the waiter to bring me the Mango Chilli Margarita.  

The soup variety had two choices and the server brought me Mexican Tomato Soup. Tortilla Chips were floating on the fairly good stimulant soup. In the mean time, my tangerine Mango Chilli Margarita also made a colourful entrance to the table. One sip was all it took to go bonkers over the drink. It was wickedly wonderful. The salt sprinkled at the brim of the cup and the lemon together with the chilli coupled with the mango taste was nothing short of heaven and left me craving for more of this nectar.

After thoroughly enjoying the drink, the 2 slices of Bruschetta along with Taco (it was a fight between Taco and Falafel and the former won the bout) were kept on the table. The Bruschetta was simply outstanding with its soft, cheesy base. The Taco was satisfactory. 

Once again, it was a battle of difficult choices as I had to choose between the 2 varieties of Pasta offered. I went in for The Pasta Supremo. Though the pasta did not quite live up to its name, the 2 mini slices of cute Pizza compensated for the Supremo's exquisiteness.  

My stomach was already delightfully swimming with the plethora of international cuisines when the waiter brought me a cup with a scoop of Vanilla icecream topped with rainbow sprinkles.

After a dizzy lunch @ a very reasonable and competent price, it was time for me to say "Hasta la Vista, Baby".  

Is Kabali that bad?

Disclaimer:

1. This is not a review of Kabali though it is due from my end. 

2. All the below observed points are mine and mine only. I am always open to discussions and get new insights from you if your thought process doesn't match mine.

When I went through the posts in FB, a common and recurring theme emerged - Kabali is not like Baasha or Padayyappa or any of his other earlier movies.

Point 1: Before the movie's release itself , Ranjith and even Rajnikanth had said very clearly to not expect Kabali to be like Baasha. If many went in with that kind of expectation despite their gentle word of reminder, is it Rajni's or Ranjith's fault??

Point 2: Yes. No celebrated Punchlines or his famous One-liners or the extreme Daredevil actions. That's what make Kabali soar high. For once, Rajni has appropriately acted matching his real age. Even in the romance scenes with Radhika Apte. I had the apprehension that it might become schmaltzy and cloyed. Fortunately, it's not overdone or under done but just perfect.

But one thing, Deii...If he does all those things like fighting in the air or jumping from the terrace also , you guys..and girls.. are going after him and yelling 'will he ever change?' and when he does something different, you are like 'where are his famous punches?'. Nothing to say more than this.

Point 3: Unlike his previous films where he is shown to be larger than life person who becomes rich and powerful in a song and with superhuman capabilities, Kabali is someone who is completely susceptible and vulnerable throughout the movie - be it in his emotions as a doting father when he jumps towards the door in the Le Royal scene or when Rajini makes a reference to Vadivelu's well-known comedy "Nanum periya rowdy dhan". How many films have we seen him referring to another person's dialogue when he always creates his own and delivers them in his Rajni-esque style?

Point 4: I respected Ranjith's thinking process for his penchant towards communism and attention to detail towards his love - the che guevara poster, reference to Ambedkar's suit, giving meaning to Rajni's coat through his wife and even the road where Valli lived - Dr. Ambedkar Road! Rajni is the big factor, obvious! But, Ranjith has also showed his knack when it came to expressing what he loved.

Point 5: When you strip away all your colossal expectations from your mind and see Kabali as Kabali alone without any comparisons to Baasha or Muthu or Padayappa Or Shivaji, the movie is surely be an enjoyable watch however flawed Kabali is - Just like our Superstar himself to show he is also a mortal. We need to understand that even Superman died on one fine day!

Point 6: I am not a Rajini fanatic who does "Paal Abhishegam or burst crackers". So, why the hell did I give all those pointers? Simple. as a person who has been thoroughly entertained by this indescribable phenomena for more than 2 decades, it was extremely sad seeing people going at his throat and saying stuffs like "he has lost his appeal, style etc" when he has given more than what he could for Kabali even at that age.

I am not here to correct anyone's views or stand points. Everyone is entitled to their own perspectives irrespective whether it's right or wrong and I, for one, respect your opinions.

I rest my case here.

The Night time Micro Adventure

Disclaimer:

All the characters below are real. Any resemblance to living beings is not at all coincidental.

The year was 2015.  This scary and terrifying incident happened to us prior to 2 months before the dawn of 2016. In the blink of an eye, we are only 5 months away from the birth of 2017. It seems like the Earth has put in extra shifts to move things faster! As usual, overlooking and forgiving my poor joke, Jatin (J), Narasimhan(N) and Vignesh(I/me/myself) had to face the brunt of this nerve racking episode after a delightful day marked with lots of joyousness and immense satisfaction.

After waving tsunami-like Tatas to DG Sir and Shobhana Mam at the chai shop, N, J and I boarded the badly maintained and battered Number 96 bus to Coimbatore Railway Station from Ettimadai to catch the Nilgiris Express @ 9pm. All 3 of us had arrived on Saturday morning to give our helping hands, enthusiastic energy and actionable support to make the Annual Diwali Party on Sunday to be a successful affair. 

To call it merely success was really an understatement for the stupendous collective effort and vibrant positive energy that was displayed by each and every individual who made the entire event a resounding and rollicking success. It was at this juncture that we had to bid adieu to DG Sir and Shobhana Mam after sipping upon the hot tea at the nearby chai shop around 6pm. Little did we know that Gods, the Master Players, were laughing to their heart's contents from their heavenly abodes.

Since we had sufficient time at our disposal, we headed towards Brookefields Mall to have our dinner. It was like any other Sunday evening. The mall was chock-a-block full and bustling with lot of events though hosted by disappointingly unenergetic hostesses. Taking the escalator at every level, N, J and I reached our destination to satisfy our grumbling stomachs.

Munching, gulping and casually chatting over our victuals, it was then the snake began to raise its hood! It was a timely call from Ashwin who asked us to leave the mall immediately and proceed to the railway station at the earliest if we hadn't started our proceeding to catch our train. He told us that as it was raining heavily, the roads have come to a stand still because of the stagnant waters under the subway. Our combined first reaction was "Is it raining?". Listening to the steadily increasing pitter-patter of the thunderous rains in the background over the call, we quickly ended our conversations, hurriedly finished our dinners  and hastened to the exit in the many blinks of an eye.  

What we saw made our skins to crawl with chill, literally and figuratively. It was not just raining cats and dogs but also cows, buffaloes and other domesticated animals! The cool AC shelter and the massive structure had literally subdued the riotous noise of Earth's sweet sweat. To make matters worse, there was a sea of people at the entrance with umbrellas as well as without umbrellas and  waiting for the continual pouring rain to give a brief respite so that everybody can make a quick escape towards their respective homes. Unfortunately, it was otherwise. Wadding through and stamping on almost everyone, N, J and I reached the farthest outside point of the mall from where we thought we could hire an auto and make a dash to the station. 

It was a sight like I have never seen in my 2 years stay at the Pump City. The traffic was akin to the famous scene in 'Mudhalvan'. The Pump City literally needed lots of pumps to pump the water out! We muttered our sincere thanks to Ashwin - our saviour - for warning us of the impending threat. I looked at my watch to see that the time read 730pm. We had a solid an hour and half to make it to the station. Under normal situations, it was a cake walk! Unfortunately for us, even a normal walk was difficult at that moment. Needless to say, we abandoned our idea to hire the auto.

Carefully skipping, hopping, jumping and leaping to all corners of the road to avoid the dangerous electric cables, wires, pot holes and the inch by inch moving traffic, we created our own way forward amidst the still lashing down rains and the still traffic. If Prabhu Deva had seen our precisely executed and well-balanced steps then, he would have been mighty pleased and proud with our dancing efforts! It was already 8pm and we were even nowhere near the subway but only to the traffic signal nearby the Mall. 

By God's grace, realization struck me like a lightning, pardon my pun here, that it was nearly an hour ago when Ashwin informed us of the heavy traffic near the subway because of the standing waters. There was no respite of the rains since then and I was sure the volume of water would have increased drastically to severely impend the movement of normal walking also. Asking the guys to hold on for a moment, I told them about the potential danger that we were in and the only way to overcome it is to take a short cut near the bridge to the station. The sharp-eyed Mr. N was quick to spot and tell me that the subway was the sole route and no other road existed. Fortunately or unfortunately, whenever I used to come to the city from the college by train, on one fine day, I decided to walk on and along the tracks. It was then I discovered that there was a broken wall adjacent to the tracks and I used to jump it to slowly walk towards the mall. We decided to execute our choreographed steps once again to make it to the broken wall but this time with even more experience!

It was a blood-curdling sight to see the sewer-mixed waters rushing with full intensity downwards the adjacent road to the subway much like the swirling river Ganges at Haridwar and Rishikesh. The train was due to leave in less than double the ten minutes. We had to cross the fraught with danger gushing water to make across the unmended wall. It was also virtually and really impossible for us to traverse through the waters under the subway and then catch the train in time. Despite the cold surrounding us, Mr. J and Mr. N were having a heated discussion as to whether to take the subway or cut across the violently flowing waters. We were losing valuable moments that would determine the train leaving with us or not. 

With the heart in my mouth, I just took the first step towards the blinding spurting spill. I knew that even one wrong step taken would result in a very bad injury - The worst case scenario being even death. Such was the ferocity and intensity with which Adam's Ale rushed through. There was simply and absolutely no room for error. We had got to do it right and do it right in our first attempt itself. Seeing me walking towards an inevitable doom alone, Mr. N and Mr. J, reluctantly and hesitantly followed me.

My slippers were all slippery and the fresh, icy cold waters made my legs numb as if someone had cast Petrificus Totalus curse on me!  I was more than cautious when I took each step. However, if it hadn't been for Mr. J's heroics, we would have been swept away off our feet by the raging mini flood. I was walking first followed by J and then N. J caught our hands with such force and strength that it was like having 2 bricks on my wrist. The way J managed to steady himself, balance and rock to and fro to counter the effects of the intensity of flowing water was simply pure physics in motion! After what seemed like eternity, we safely crossed the Waters of Death and then stravaiged on the tracks for a moment.

The 10 minute countdown began for the carriage on wheels to depart from the station. This is where N showed his admirable bravery. With no lights around and the rains still pelting upon us, N marched his way boldly on the tracks by being aware of all the dangers like loose ground, insects, snakes and the trains themselves. Whenever we heard a loud blaring horn, N immediately reassured us saying that the trains are very far and we could reach the platform in time. It was as if N had a special power to speak with trains! J and I were treading slowly behind N who was full of energy and giving us constant updates on the landscape so that nothing awry happened to any of us en route to the nearing station.

Just like a lost traveller getting excited on seeing the first person they encounter, we were over the moon (though there was no moon on that day!) on seeing the sloping ascent of the first platform. We were exactly a minute ahead of the departure time and was right on time to see the Nilgiris Express slowly chugging into the platform. Silently thanking Lord Ayyappa for extricating us from the intricate situation,  All waz well and I was also sure that because of the sudden rains the wells in Coimbatore were also swelled! 

PS:

Hadn't the benevolent and thoughtful Ashwin called us at the right moment and asked us to leave asap, we would have been idly chatting and left the train behind. No amount of Thank You can do justice for what you did, dude.

PS 2:

If the government had repaired the wall, we wouldn't have been able to board our trains. For once, I thanked the government for not doing their duty properly. 

Pattappa's Thaligai - A Cracker of a Lunch Buffet!!

It was a toss between Annalakshmi and Pattappa's Thaligai. The latter won the competition hands down even without the coin being flipped! My friend told me that it's a traditional and authentic TamBrahm Iyengar restaurant which serves outstanding meals. Is that the differentiating factor as Annalakshmi is also pure vegetarian? Price. And I will definitely talk about it later on in this review.

So, my friends and I dropped in at around 2pm. As I was completely new to RA Puram, I did not have an easy time in locating the place. But, to the local denizens, it's a walk in the park, literally and figuratively, as the restaurant is just opposite to Nageswara Rao Park. The restaurant was jam-packed even at that time and it took us some time to get seated in our allotted places.

We were so ravenous that the moment we got the bill from the counter and had a good look at the neat and clean place, we headed straight to the buffet section. The rule goes like this: Everyone has to compulsorily have their first course from the spread counters. Subsequently, the items will be served at the table by the polite staffs for your 2nd, 3rd, 4th till your 'n' and 'n+1'th filling.

So, the buffet began with a couple of Chapatis, Aviyal, Sambar rice, Tamarind rice, Payasam, Potato varuval and Vadagam. The Chapatis were the usual. No big difference compared to other places. But, the aviyal was going all bonkers and dancing to all tunes on my taste buds! It was exactly the way my mom used to prepare @ home. If I thought the Aviyal was the best thing since sliced bread, I was proved completely wrong until I tasted the Payasam. Sweetness Embodiment to the extent that I had to leave behind some payasam in the cup as it was too sugary. The hot Sambar Rice with the right kind of spicy Potato varuval was like the venn pongal they offer in Nanganallur Anjeyar Temple. It was heaven! The combo was so perfect that I could have ordered only the Sambar rice alone instead of the entire buffet! Likewise, the Tamarind Rice with the vadagam combo was equally good but it still fell short of the Sambar Rice! As ever, the Curd rice with Mormilaga and pickle was the ideal soothing agent for the stung tongue with the lingering stunning taste of the delicious Sambar Saadham.

The Buffet is priced @ Rs. 170. You cannot get such a terrific lunch which is exactly like how it is prepared at your homes. I was fondly remembered of my mom's and paati's sleight of hand when they create some culinary magic  - The strong happy emotions I felt when I dined here is something priceless!

The Always Irrepressibly Exuberant and Buoyant Diwali Bash

Ever since I stepped into the sprawling and verdant Amrita School of Business to pursue my MBA, there is only one thought that lingers and runs through my mind like the still waters of the  Amazon for the past 3 years whenever The Festival of Lights was around the corner - "When will we be having the gala Diwali fest @ the quaint and charming Ettimadai Village?".What's so special about this significant fiesta? EVERYTHING!!

For those who haven't been a part of this wonderful occasion, I would like to give a small and brief primer to get yourself acquainted with the history of this lively celebration. DG Sir and Shobhana Mam has been the cornerstone of this buzzing-with-lots-of-life evento by laying the foundation for The Outreach Programme to spread its magnanimous and wondrous wings to the underprivileged children of the neighbouring village which is very close to our college. We used to teach the children without fail on every Saturday despite our hectic case studies and presentations. DG Sir and Shobhana Mam took this initiative one step further by organizing a mega Diwali event where the volunteers can contribute whatever they could according to their wish - be it monetarily or by being physically present investing their own time and effort to make it a grand success. Punctuality personified Shobhana Mam always gives me the dates well in advance to book my tickets for this high octane and engaging celebration when I became an alumni. It is not only just for me but also for all the other volunteers who wants to be a part of this highly spirited affair. Shobhana Mam goes the extra mile by also arranging rooms for us in our hostels by cutting across the university's red tapes effortlessly.

DG Sir and Shobhana Mam are one of the most adored and respected professors in the campus for their down-to-earth personalities despite their highly regarded IIT-IIM and PhD degrees from world renowned universities like Berkeley besides their laudable work experiences in MNCs like Ponds. Without any infinitesimal iota of doubt, it is a taken corollary that a wave of volunteers are always attracted to this extravaganza like a moth to a bright flame just because of their persona and their immense respect towards them.

The pre-Diwali fest organizing is as exciting and fun-filled as the main picture itself. Before the D-Day, DG Sir, Shobhana Mam, Guna Anna, myself and whoever is interested and willing would march towards the streets and markets of Coimbatore to buy the goody bags for the kids as well as the prizes for the competitions that would be held on the action-packed day. It has always been a good learning experience by observation for me to learn the management ropes in real life from the Ponds perfectionist when he negotiates with the shrewd and case-hardened wholesale traders who tries to fleece their customers to pocket some extra cash in their kitties. The entire exercise, which goes very late into the evening, is extremely eventful when we hunt for the cheapest and the best shops that sells our required plenty-of-items-to purchase-in our list like soaps, oils, powder, tooth brushes etc. for all the children living in that reduced circumstances. Once when the shopping spree is done and dusted, we head to our resting and nesting place - DG Sir's home and his specialty cup of hot and steaming coffee!

Just like how we throng to a Rajnikanth's new release with full of life and gusto, the expressions on the children's faces are worth an infinite zillion dollars! So much enthusiasm, effervescence and the sparkle in their eyes when they show their ardent desire to display their talents in front of others and be deservedly appreciated for their efforts - You can actually feel a tremendous swell of emotions rising within yourself when you witness the happiness bouncing and gliding on their cute faces. The programme kick starts with the "Kadavul Vaazhthu" and the chain of events ranging from Tug of War to numerous Sports Competitions to the famous Murukku-hanging-eating contest. Separate events are held for both boys and girls catering to all ages. The kids also participate with such keenness and intensity that you can see their raw potential in its true unadulterated nature. The children also sing, dance and perform skits to exhibit their uninhibited talent and simply wow us with their performances.

As we are on the heels of songs and dance, the volunteers are not left far behind. They also give an exceptional display of foot-tapping peppy and melodious songs and  mesmerize the audience with their hypnotic singing abilities. Vidhya Sagar, Vishnu, Vaisakh, Kevin et al have simply blown away our heads with their dazzling renditions on the latest popular numbers which literally makes the kids go crazy with much agog and dance wildly to their mellifluous tunes. Our special set of photo experts, courtesy Gobi, Ashwin and of course, our very own DG Sir, capture all the candid moments with such precision that you can feel their clicks to laugh rambunctiously like the delightful frozen moments themselves.

With all the energy expended and exhausted from the various activities, the next obvious conclusion is Food, of course! Lunch is always an indispensable happening where the wolf-hungry children and adults alike are served with Veg Biryani, Curd Rice, Fryums and Sweet. The collective effort of each and every individual, who does their earnest best to quickly walk, run and hop from one place to another for ensuring that everyone has had to their heart's content, is indeed a sight to behold! At the other end of the spectrum, another bunch of bubbly volunteers actively involve themselves to see to it that none of the gifts that had been purchased the earlier day is missed out while packing the goody bags. It is an extremely time-consuming and arduous task as we had to pack up the long list of items without overlooking or missing out any single present for any child. With seamless integration from the patient collaboration of the energetic volunteers, the substantially complicated wrap ups are done smoothly and efficiently. In fact, the whole process is actually made to look rather simple though it is way far from that!

By the fag end of the day, though everyone is dog tired to death, the atmosphere is still highly contagious with fire and vigour to still do more than what has been done. It is really an immensely satisfying feel when you know that you have been able to light up joy in another person's life and when it is children, the feelings and the emotions are thoroughly overwhelming and flowing like the thunderous Niagara falls. It gives us the sense of purpose and outwardness that life is merely not just simply working and getting yourself a hefty salary at the end of every month but is something way beyond that - to return at least something to the nature and society for the plenty of things that we are really fortunate enough to be born with - in short to live an enriching and fulfilling lives.

Just like how the Blue Chips and other Enterprises give a sterling performance on a Q-o-Q and Y-o-Y basis, the participants for this mega Diwali drive is surely to only increase exponentially with the coming years. DG Sir and Shobhana Mam - Without your tireless and persistently tenacious effort, the dashing Diwali blast that is being continuously held all these years would have remained a distant dream and a muted blast.

On behalf of everyone who has been a part of this wonderful event, I would like to thank you and Shobhana Mam for the fantastic memories that you have given us till now and going to give us in the future. Thanks a ton, Sir. Thanks a ton, Mam.

PS:
I had always wanted to write about this cracking experience for a very long time. Unfortunately, in order to cover all the essential aspects, it required a lot of time from my end. Forgive my adequately inappropriate timing of this blog, Sir. I will ensure that it is done a lot quicker from next time just like your snappy and exquisite photographs.