Monday, July 31, 2006 

Kannadasan

This morning, I went a little retro with the music in my car and put in the PBS evergreen hits cassette in the deck. It had some of the finest songs...Kanpadume, Aval parandhu ponaale, Mayakkama Kalakkama to name a few. The last song was Anubhavam Pudhumai Avalidam Kanden from the movie Kadhalikka Neramillai.



I have heard this song a zillion times and every time, I am amazed by the combination of the music, P Susheela's mesmerizing voice and Kannadaasan's magnetic lyrics. The lyrics exude romance and I consider this song the best romantic duets ever. This song in particular is penned as though its a dialogue between the hero and the heroine. A sample here:

kannenna kannenru aruginil avan vandhaan
aha pennenna pennenru ennenna kadhai sonnaan
idhu podhaadenraen ini koodaadhenraan
innum meedham enraen adhu naalai enraan


Subtitle:
The heroine claims that the hero approached her expressing his awe in seeing her eyes. And the hero continues praising her to be the finest woman he has ever met..She wants him to keep going and asks for more...He says it's gone far enough..She asks when he'll complete the rest...He promises to come back the next day.

DISCLAIMER: I am not very expressive with words and this crude translation does not do any justice to the beauty of these lyrics. If you think you can do a better job, leave the translation in the comments section. Much Appreciated.

Not just this, all the songs that I listed and more in the 60's and 70's had Kannadasan's stamp on them. He really is a rare gem in Tamil cinema. The Greatest.

Trivia: Can any one interpret the lyrics ?

Enna paarvai Undha Paarvai
Idai Melindhal Indha Paavai

Sunday, July 30, 2006 

Asha NYC/NJ Half Marathon

Asha for Education is a non-profit secular organization dedicated to change in India by focusing on basic education in the belief that education is a critical requisite for socio-economic change.

The Asha NYC/NJ half marathon is set to take place on August 27th 2006. My friend from UF, Manasa, is a participant. Please visit her Homepage here and see what she has got to say about the marathon and Asha.
100% of the contributions go towards educating under priviledged children in India.

Interested people can donate through the link in her homepage.

Good luck to Manasa and Others participating in the Asha NYC/NJ Half Marathon. This is a fantastic cause and you guys are doing a great job. Cheers!

Wednesday, July 26, 2006 

I'm Back

I am back in Austin after a month long (felt more like a week though) vacation in India. It was great and very refreshing to see my folks back home. The Insane heat that one would normally associate with Madras was absent. I went around some parts of Tamil Nadu before crossing the border into Karnataka. All in All, a very nice trip. Looking forward to my next visit already.
I have some pics in my photo blog. More in the pipeline.

That's all Folks!