Tag: travel

Posted in Pictures Desi

Two back to back great flicks: Meyyazhagan and Amaran (Tamil)

Posted on by veeskitchen

Got to watch Meyyazhagan (or is it Meiazhagan) in Netflix and Amaran in cinemas today in Doha. After a long time, watching meaningful films without an iota of violence or sex felt good.

Meyyazhagan: Hero Arvind Swamy once our heart throb omg can’t believe! Now he looks like our neighbourhood mama but I have to agree that we all too have become typical middle aged mamis! Finally seeing Arvind Swamy like this was kind of satisfying! Loved the flow of this picture which some found to be dragging and pointless. Exactly for me this was very much appealing. Such a ‘yadaartham.’ Kudos to Karthi who practically lived his role. Such a happy-go-lucky character. Is it a coincidence that he lands this kind of roles. After PS 1 & 2 and Meyyazhagan, one feels compelled to think so. He is too good and comes off as a natural. In PS I did find him to be a bit overacting. The overenthusiastic character play just fit him perfectly in Meyyazhagan.

Amaran was simply great. How many young men lay down their lives for Mother India so readily. And we are here squabbling about petty things living materialistic lives not even aware of the men who guard our borders so that we can go to sleep in peace every night. A moving picture throughout and a heavy subject, it brought instant tears to my eyes in some scenes. Wonderful or rather realistic picturization even if it may be make-believe sets erected for the purpose (for the climax scene for instance). How the director mobilized those frenzied crowds for some shots is unbelievable. Logistics simply beats the logic! Looks like a group of Kashmiris were brought to Chennai and were actually trained to act in the film! Kashmir has been Hindu for 10000 years. The change is there only in last 400 years. 9600 years of peace and 400 years of bloody violence. Tell me what went wrong there and why.

Adi Shankara established one of the (Shankara) Mutts in Sri Nagar in the 7th century CE. The dating is by the British historians. Poorna river was mentioned a a hundred kilometers away from its current location as per original Shankaracharya life history. The river probably changed its course after a few centuries. It means, the original lifetime of Adi Shankara as per most ancient scriptures, could have been around 1st or 2nd century CE or even earlier in the BCE but the British put it at &th century CE. Anything older than Christ they cannot admit! For them world functioned only since Jesus came to earth! So the Shankara Mutt in Sri Nagar is that historic. For whatever reasons, Adi Shankara got the vigrahas (idols) back to Sringeri. It is said that he had visions of Islamic invasions and feared the destruction of shrines, so after establishing the mutt, he got back the original moola vigrahas back with him. You cannot disconnect history completely from the land. Even today Hindus continue to live in Kashmir. In last few years, Kashmir is thankfully returning to normalcy shedding violence. This is mostly growth driven. Economics is the base reason for trouble in any part of the world.

So many young lives wasted out there. Its deplorable that young men in productive age take to stone pelting and arms training and terror there completely misled by the militants. Generations of Kashmiris have lost their way and their lives for this reason. If you cannot co-exist with fellow Indians, you cannot live with anyone else in the world. But the picture is amazingly neutral. We have to give credit to the producer-director and for the screenplay-dialogue writer for carefully steering away and staying clear of politics, especially international politics. Not once Pakistan is mentioned or even hardcore terror is mentioned. No reference to religion. Maintaining that neutrality is very tough given the scene of action. I liked the way they treated this subject lightly yet profoundly. It shows that you can treat sensitive subjects so thoughtfully without having to affect anyone badly. Its important for those in media and in entertainment industry to stay unbiased and neutral. Its understandable why there is this representation angle even in Hollywood pictures giving token representation to every single minority group. That inclusiveness is what will sustain peace in the world.

Having said that, proud to be born in this punya bhoomi Bharat (INdia), the one and only country in the world with 10000 year unbroken Hindu civilization. Richest culture, rich in every way. I don’t want my nation to chase plastic prosperity. May humanity and culture prevail which are the best gifts we can leave for our future generations. Its okay when you are lived-in for millennia and millennia, you tend to be overcrowded and poor. My heart swelled in pride seeing how the sons of Bharat, Mother India, are defending her, laying down their lives in her defence. Not everybody is after money. Armed forces are one of India’s poorest paymasters. Services are not exactly lucrative. Yet when young men and women want to choose serving in our armed forces, it means they put nation first. If India can get aggressive at all, if Hindus can get aggressive, then it means its for a very good reason. I don’t want to talk more on Kashmir than this. But not a square inch anyone can wrench from India: our brothers and sisters in armed forces will see to that our territorial integrity is protected whatsoever and howsoever.

Finally, Major Mukund Varadarajan will be remembered as one of the bravest and selfless sons of India. You feel guilty and sad that such a young and brave life is snuffed out so early. Fate is cruel. My heart goes out to Indhu and and their little daughter.Theirs is a beautiful and inspiring love story.

Sai Pallavi slayed it literally! Siva Karthikeyan was good too. The one who played his mother was a pro. Was it Rahul Bose. He is probably curated for this kind of motivating roles. That the picture could be shot in Kashmir locales involving hundreds of Kashmiris by a Tamil director-producer from down south with a dusky hero, is testimonial to the fact that Kashmiris are changing for the better and are with India. I can’t believe the Kashmiris turned up in droves to partake in the filming of such a courageous story. It means they belong with rest of India without a second thought.

Sai Pallavi – the natural beauty with no make up, no glossy costumes, simply down to earth and such a natural all the way with no faking: she is my kinda heroine! After seeing the loud brashy types jingling with no stuff, she comes across as someone with grace and substance and of course, understated elegance.

Life can be short; only it has to be meaningful.

Posted in Economic

Sheer harassment awaits you on Arrival at Chennai Airport.

Posted on by veeskitchen

ATTENTION PRIME MINSTER SHRI NARENDRA MODI JI PMO

When I flew in the first week of September, things were as usual at Chennai International. I got picked up comfortably at the terminal arrival T2. When I returned to Chennai Domestic after a local trip by the last week, already dead tired, I had no awareness what a nightmare awaited me.

I was asked to take a buggy to the multistory parking lot a km away. Sounded simple. Now this is the new pickup point for Ola, Uber, pre-paid airport taxis or even private cars. Those who want to transfer to Chennai Metro Rail can always do so from within the airport without having to step out – whether domestic or international. Both have direct connectivity to Metro.

But the problem is, you reach your destination after a tiring travel. There is not a regulated queue for the buggy. I was a lone traveler. I have health issues, I am middle aged, and I can never haul weights. Maximum I can pull up my bags from the conveyor belt and shift them to the low level trolleys. Mostly at this, I am helped at by fellow passengers. The buggy line is long, if at all there is one. People rush to get into the buggy not wanting to wait their turns. Absolute chaos with no discipline or order. Those with light cases manage easily to board the buggy flinging their bags to the holdall in the back. I had a great difficulty hauling my bags on to the back of the buggy that cannot hold big suitcases. Mine had to be put on top jutting out and shaking all the way. Moreover mixed luggages of passengers are piled up precariously one on top of another. I saw ladies struggle to haul their bags to the buggy and get in at the same time. By the time some women successfully placed their trolley bags over the buggy, their seat in the buggy was taken. With the buggy full and leaving without them but with their bags, the women were perplexed. After over 20 minutes of trying to get into one, I summoned someone probably in-charge there to help me. Finally a kind man hauled my luggages to the back of the buggy and I could take a seat in the buggy at the same time. But not after a terrible argument with the driver of the buggy. That by itself was a feat. It took me over 30 minutes just to get from outside the terminal to the parking lot. Here you have multistorey parking and the cars are parked at various levels. You have to take an elevator to reach whatever floor, in case of prepaid taxis. God knows where to wait for Uber. I was told the waiting place was the same as the uber/ola drivers only could drive through. Such a confusion and MESS. Totally harassed.

I thought the international terminal would be different. My husband who traveled last month went through the same nightmare on landing at T2. Early morning, no buggy was available. Trolleys cannot be wheeled beyond a point. He called his cabbie who thankfully walked upto the terminal from the parking. Both of them wheeled the suitcases for over a good half to one km to the parking lot at morning 3 am. It totally drained his energy. Is this what to expect on landing in our hometown after a tired journey. In my case, even if the buggy may be available, I just can’t haul the bags to that height of the buggy holdall. My international flight bags weigh over 18 to 20 kg each. What am I going to do. What brainless people have put such a harrowing system into place? Its not only impractical, it is sheer harassment, nightmare. This is now going on for over 2 months and I wonder whoever has registered an official complaint.

If for security reasons the government wants to keep the taxies and cars at bay at the parking lot, then something like a shuttle bus must be arranged where there must be conductors to handle luggages. I have seen such a system in place in the US. One can board the shuttle to reach parking lots as far as few kilometers without hassles.

Hopefully by the time I return the old way of exiting airport is back. I give up, I just can’t. Wonder how the wheelchair passengers cope up. Its not a straight level ride with their carts to the parking at all. A lot of work needs to be done on warfooting basis. Airport authority need not have to turn our airport into 5 star hotel. At least the basics they must take care of. What is the use of building a swanky new airport and putting passengers through sheer harassment on arrival. Basic amenities must be covered first. You see the airports in the US. They keep the artefacts there in museums not in airports. Airport can be plain but functional and user-friendly. Arrival in Chennai is now a big headache be it international or domestic.