Life is a camera, Face it with a smile
A smile is like saying hello without any words.


Thursday 10 November 2011

Wonderful Quotes for a Greyish Day

Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

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Don't Ever Stop Dreaming Your Dreams

Don't ever be reluctant
to show your feelings when
you're happy, give in to it.
When you're not, live with it.

Don't ever be afraid to
try to make things better,
you might be surprised at the results.

Don't ever take the weight of the
world on your shoulders.
Don't ever feel threatened by the future,
take life one day at a time.

Don't ever feel guilty about the past,
what's done is done.
Learn from mistakes you might have made.

Don't ever feel that you are alone,
there is always somebody there
for you to reach out to.

Don't ever forget that you can achieve
so many of the things you can imagine ...
It's not as hard as it seems.

Don't ever stop loving,
don't ever stop believing,
don't ever stop dreaming your dreams

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Having once decided to achieve a certain task, achieve it at all costs of tedium and distaste. The gain in self confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labor is immense."


-- Thomas A. Bennett

Sunday 30 October 2011

Ra-One Bad

Firstly and foremost,

1. Tamilians are not idiotic and clumsy.

2. 'Konjam' is very different from 'Condom'

3. Even if we eat with our hands, we eat decently and do not put curd in our noodles.

4. 'Haiyoo' is not said after every single sentence.

5. Idly, dosai and sambar isn't the only identifiable south indian thing.

Ra one dminishes all hopes of even an average film. Untouching sentiments, sad humour by stereotyping tamils, and high expectations of action packed scenes ruined the experience. Even Chitti as Rajni on screen was not enough to connect songs and fights. The first 5minutes of the movie was probably enough to put you off the whole movie (What was the point of Prinyanka Chopra, and Sharuck motor biking, and etcetc...). If that wasn't enough, the train scene was an epic copy cat fail. Metaphorically, Ra-one, the movie, is as poweful as G-one trying to stop the train, and takes five minutes to do so, destroying the entire station.

In my opinion, the idea of a modern raavan, Ra-one and G - one (Jeevan) are the most historically dated characters that we have ever seen. A total miss.

Wednesday 26 October 2011

ஜாதகமா ஜோக்கா

ஓர் இடத்தில் ஜாதகம் பொருத்தம் பார்த்தா ஏழு பொருத்தம். குரு உச்சிலே இருக்காரு அமோகமான பொருத்தம் என்கிறார்.
இன்னொருவர், அம்மா தாயே வேணாம், நாக தோஷமாம், இனைந்தால் சண்டை மட்டும் தான், மூன்றே மாததில் பிறிந்திடுவார்கள் என்கிறார்.
எது உண்மை, எது பொய். நடந்த பின் கூறுவார்கள். அந்த ஜோசியகாரர் சொல்வதை கேட்டிருகளாம் என்று.
மிகவும் பிடித்த வரன், பொருத்தம் இல்லையென்றால் 'வேர் எங்கையாவது பார்க்கலாமா ' என்று கேட்க தோன்றும் மனம்.
எதுக்கு அப்போ இந்த வீன் வேலை. நமக்கே தெரியுது, ஆளுக்கு ஆள் ஜாதகம் பொருத்தம் மாறுபடுது. நம்பிக்கை கொடுக்கிற மாதிரி ஒன்றும் இல்லையே இதில். இப்படி surety இல்லாத ஒர் விடயத்தை எதற்கு மெலும் மெலும் வளர்கனும்.

Saturday 8 October 2011

Engayum Epothum - A Reflection

Just saw engayum eppothum after multiple reccomendations.

Thus with expectations of a good movie, I watched and I should say it was worth the watch.

Some well crafted scenes. Two very different love stories, yet natural enough to believe. The scene of Anjali getting Jey to organi donate was classic.

But the best thing was the message at the end. It's good to see the quality of low budget movies improving drastically in recent times. From the fleets of 'kallori', 'thoonganakaram', 'angadi theru', 'myna', 'nadodikal', comes yet another impressive flick. Sufficient commercial aspects to sell the movie, yet interwoven with a message to the audience, to also fulfill the social responsibility of the movie maker.

What is lacking though is the strength of the message. The climax sends home the message that road accidents shouldn't happen as there are real people and families impacted by this. It attacks the problem at the point where its most likely to touch Indian people, i.e kinship and love. And I was touched. Tears.

But the fact that the director failed to mention causes or solutions to this problem is lacking. Fleetingly reasons such as high speed, negligent driving may have been indicated. But to drill home some reasons even more strongly would have been appreciated. Even a solution such as seatbelts would have been the icing on the cake.

But, as a start to the trend of mature movies, its amazing and much welcomed by me, 'an' audience who wants a message packed novel entertainer and whose sick and tired of the old masalas.

Uni Life - Not a reflection, but an analysis

What's spurred this particular blog post, a particular comment I received recently from an Imperial College student.

'I never had time for anything. All I did was study'

It's not the first time I heard this comment. The same comment phrased slightly differently was said from a deligent student in a university in Thiruchengodu, Tamil Nadu, India.

I don't know if the situation is different in Australia. My particular case might not be the best representative of an Australian student life. But I know Australians, even if they don't study a lot, sure do work a lot. They work so much, they don't have time for anything else either.

Doing a number of things makes you smarter at the way you do a number of things. You learn to squeeze 10 pages of reading into 10 minutes and not 20 minutes. You optimise time.

But there is a saturation point. Just like 10 pages can't be squeezed into 2minutes, overloading us with information, isn't going to get us smarter. This is what I criticise about the education system in some universities. Teach us the techniques to be smart learners, but don't feed us with information to the extent of making us machines that just grind the material, but don't really think for ourselves. How many of us would have thought 'If only I had the time, I would have done that' or 'I'll do it after exams, I just don't have time now'. The number of missed opportunities to discover ourselves.

Sunday 25 September 2011

Higher Education Legislation Amendment (Student Services and Amenities) Bill 2010

I think facilities at my university are just fine.
The government is just using another excuse to charge money from student's who already have a massive HECS debt hovering over their head.
Those who want sporting facilities etc should pay for it.
The opt in structure works just fine.
So many protests took away compulsory student unionism.
Let's not go back to it.

Saturday 24 September 2011

Why did I study LAW?

I often ask myself this question. In the five years I've studied law, why did I actually study it?
And now its popping up on job applications, that I actually need a proper answer.

But that aside, (cos we all know noone says the entire truth in job apps), why did I really study law?

Even if it was part marks, and being able to do it, I couldn't have entirely chosen the course on a whim. But thinking back, I can't place a particular dying reason for chosing the course I did.
I was never the ones who had my entire 10years of life planned out in advance. Seriously, I don't even know what I'm going to do tomorrow, let alone the next 10years!

But the intersting thing in choosing my course ,was that, whilst I chose it overnight, my interest in law (even if misplaced) arose well before that. I think it was in year 10. I remember scoring 20/20 on some pointless assignment about ourselves, and I remember writing 'I want to be a lawyer, becuase there is no retirement; Retirement for a lawyer is becoming a judge'. Ha what a comedy. What I didn't know then was, judge's retire as well. (I can't believe my health teacher bought it first of all).

But secondly that, aside from retirement, the law profession is one of the most overworked professions (which is another reason you have to really love what you do) . By fourth year I discovered this, cos law students didn't sleep much either. But aside from my misconceptions about law, even in those early mature days, I had dreams of wearing the black coat and standing in front of a judge and speaking. (even before i knew the different between a barrister and a lawyer). So that's probably what found me in a law course.

Plus the fact that I like solving problems. As a kid, I'd borrow all the lateral thinking puzzles in the library. I just loved them. 10years back though. I don't have that sort of time to sit and stretch my brain these days. (see too much education is bad, it restricts your thinking)

But the problem is, some law problems don't actually have solutions and I didn't have time to find one. For my science brain, there would always be a solution, a fixed solution. Something as neat as the chemical periodic table. University thrashed these ideologies. No clear answer was found even after 300 pages of judgement in the Mabo case.

I guess, I just kind of lost it at uni, with my noble ideas of law. I enjoyed the challenge as I always do. But it killed my enthusiasm. I was merely struggling to keep up. I merely applied the law as it existed. Why bother looking into 10 other judgements, I'll just copy what's in the study guide said. It was very mechanical and taxing . It was just so far away from the profession. I missed the notions of actually helping people. The people notion disappeared at uni. It was all text and heavy books that you bought with your entire life savings. I was feeling like how the public would portray a lawyer 'money hungry,' by the end of it all.

But hey law is about the people (or the corporations). But university showed me facts and figures (i.e the law), not how it impacted on the people. I needed to wait and see the practical side of things. Which the Jessup moot did. It was like this amazing close to real life problem, and in the 3 months of doing it, I though it was sooooooo real.! Two real countries bashing each other's throats out at the International Court of Justice. Now that was exciting! Not 13 weeks of lectures (not meaning to) but force feeding us knowledge so we could pass this exam paper in 3hours. When in actual fact, that could have been an A class moot topic in front of a judge.

I'm in the final 3 weeks of my law degree. I've discovered what I love about law. Helping REAL people figure out the law. Advocating on their behalf. I've discovered what sux about a law degree tooo (which is another blog). But I can't wait to enter the profession! SOME ONE OUT THERE PLEASE JUST LET ME THROUGH THE DOOR, YOU WONT REGRET IT. PLEASE JUST GIVE ME THAT FIRST JOB.

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Stigma and Universities

It has to be more than a mere coincidence that every person I know who got a seasonal clerkship fails to get a priority placement in the law firm.

And I thought getting a seasonal was 80% guaranteeing you a graduate position.

I fail to understand why you won't be selected after, tireless efforts of working your arse of, chatting up staff, and even in some circumstances writing praise after praise of the firm in careers guides to help recruit to the firm even smarter people in future years.

I just fail to see the justice. Has it got anything to do with the name of uni? I wonder.

Logically it doesn't. Cos they did take us for seasonal clerkship position. But it still makes me ponder.

Friday 1 July 2011

I love Chennai.
And i'm not a Chennaite.
But I love it.
There's something special about that city.
It has a the right mix of modernity and tradition.
It's an Indian city like no other.
A south Indian delight - Chennai.
Even amongst it searing temperatures and conjested roads, I am loving Chennai for its unique Indian city life.

Wednesday 8 June 2011

Pure Happiness

You know that feeling when you get it.
"Or do you?"
The feeling of goodness. Altruistic?
"The stupid "goodness" Altruism, whateva."

The feeling you get when you happened to be the person who could offer the seat in the Tram.
"Stupid Old man, had to look at me, now I'll have to get up, and suffer this journey standing"
The type of contentedness you get as the random passer by who provided directions .
'll just tell him the way to look smart"
The sort of satisfaction you receive from cooking awesome food for friends and family.
"I have cooking skills, and I'm just paying you back for the $100 lunch at Grand Hyatt"
Holding the door open for the other guy in return for the thankyou.
"I'm patient enough to wait for you"
The sweetening emotions that overwhelm with the little heartwarming smiles.
"It would be rude otherwise, not to smile"
The ones that make life so worth living.
"Life's many painstaking formalities"
Natural things that help and make others happy.
"Make things so complicated"
They make you feel like a millionaire in a second.
"Make you feel jobless/stupid in less than a second"
Who said altruism existed? Its all a feedback system.
"I didn't, what's altruism"
Helping makes them happy, so I help to see them happy which of course by the turn of Karma makes me happy.
"Helping is only for my own gain. Hot guy/gal. Makes me look good. Otherwise not worth the effort"
If it didn't make them happy, or rather, didn't make me happy, why would I do it?
"I've not helping cos I feel good, okay, get it right?"

Sunday 5 June 2011

Women, whore, and polygamous marriages.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/lifestyle/others/malaysian-women-urge-wives-be-whores-bed-474
I've got mixed views.

I'm filled with distaste at polygamous marriages, especially when its only the man who can do it. (okay that came out the wrong way. I don't like polygamous marriages full stop. And its even worse that men only seem to get away with it. )
But to deal with such cases of polygamous marriage, and the urge to stray, the idea, as presented in the article, of women being a 'whore' in bed seems logical. Feed the hunger, and it stops.
Unfortunately, the hunger might not be satisfied fully, and hence if one has to stray, he does.
And as pointed out by the article, women already have so much responsibility - plus this? It may be unfair to place the burden of straying on women, when it's men committing the sin.
But, its still one strategy of many to try, to make the marriage work. After all, straying is going to ruin the marriage. So if the man can't be responsible, let the female take control, and entice him to stay in his own boundaries. I don't see that as women just being a sex toy.

Saturday 4 June 2011

Discrimination

Just when I thought discrimination didn't exist.
The age old prejudices, and biases crop up.
Not obvious of course, hidden beneath the veil of lifestle blah blah blah.
How will it ever let you move forward?

Thursday 2 June 2011

Google's Ideas

So Google thinks Facebook is competition?

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/former-chief-eric-schmidt-admits-google-didnt-take-facebook-seriously/story-e6frgakx-1226067954921?from=public_rss

Amongst the big 4 of the net (Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon) why would any one of the 4 ever feel competition?
Seriously each has its own market share for different things.
Amazon - the no1 retailer online.
Facebook - the no1 socialiser online
Apple - the no1 user friendly app.
Google - the no1 search engine.

Why invent competition when there is none. Sure, 300million people are honked on to Facebook, but they are not going to give up Google for searching. If any weird attempt of copying Facebook occurs on Google, I'm not really sure if that's going to help them.

For starters, its going to turn me against the search engine. What your doing is smart, i.e, google books, google scholar. It's unique. Remember, even the little attempt at Google buzz was such a failure, so why muddle with things that are to be left to others?

If adds, and income is being attracted by Facebook, it seriously isn't a reason to panic. You still have the market share of users in search engines, and a lot of advertising income will still be generated that way.

So chillax and retain your personality GOOGLE. A little advise from a little person.
If anything Facebook, is the one to fear with all the law suits and controversies.


Friday 27 May 2011

Those Times..

There are times when you have these massive butterflies somersaulting within you.
It is a sign....A sign you are sick with nervousness.
I'm treading every step slowly, anticipating something might be lurking in the corridor.
Should I be prepared to run?
Or make a dash for it anyway, that way I've got a head start...atleast.
The problem is, I don't know what I'm actually running from?
What if I ran for it, instead of away from it?
But I am sure it is there. The signs are all showing.
Hm, should I just confront it? Where are you, show yourself?
But, alas, I'm too of a coward for that. I'll wait for it to show itself, thinking and making myself falsely believe, that this is what true bravery is.
Oh, where is my Rajput sword? Phew, right beside me.
That's a comfort. If need be I can make a flee with it.
Haah, that would ensure I have the upper ground. Or would it really?
I guess I could never prove I had the sword, and the higher ground if I did run for it.
So running was never the solution.
I need to live through it, don't I? That's right!
I'm part of the making of history, not the missing pages.
My story is to be told in its entirety not stopped abruptly.
Hey, I'm better than you, cos I can endure this.
I don't need petrol to keep me running, I just need those butterflies to get lost.
In hindsight, its probably not gonna be so bad.

And, by the way, where did those butterflies go? Please don't come back again.
My thoughts lack the steadiness when your somersaulting.
So butterflies, listen, if Seethai can do it, I can do it.
What are little butterflies going to do to me?
That was not to be interpreted as a challenge, though.

Monday 23 May 2011

When you don't mean to hurt people...

I never meant to hurt anyone. I still don't.
I may seem adamant and stubborn.
But this will bring happiness to everyone.
This is not a little matter to me, to forget abt, like the chips packet that I asked for as a child.
It's more than that. Its my life.
I would tell you a 100 things to convince how talented and worth my choice is.
But your face stops me. Your abrupt conclusions stick my mouth together.
Whilst my heart is pounding away, ready to cry out in tears.
I can titfortat and excel your arguments for my heart is behind the cause.
How can I change that, my heart?
But I can't change. I just can't. I really don't mean to hurt you.
It's for the long term peace and happiness of everyone.
I'm so grateful for everything.
I was annoying at birth, and am still annoying.
But maybe this was destiny for me? Why not think it that why?
If only I could open my mouth and explain it all to you.

Sunday 22 May 2011

A Return to Blogging after a Pause

I was, of recent, actually, rather than on a subconscious level, appreciating the level of technology surrounding us. This occurred especially in light of the recent FB group controversy and the confusion over our private lives intermingling with our public lives.

Whilst I was on Facebook, I would have never considered myself an addict, but I immensely enjoyed spending time on it to look at photos and what not updates of 'facebook friends'. Apart from my "real" friends(people I actually met on a regular basis in real life, and new of their lives), I found my self, unconsciously, making generalisations of people based on just what they potrayed facebook. At times, it was so bad, that I would consider someone else discriminatory, for making those comments. But how often do we reflect our true selves on Facebook. Even before this question is asked, what is the point of analysing these people so meticulousy on Facebook. Was I going to employ them, was I looking for a potential partner or friend(considering most of them were meant to be my 'friend' or atleast acquaintance')? No. It is the simple nosiness that is innate in us. I found myself doing the same thing, old 'paati's' do in India, and I get so cut at them for doing so. The paati's would munch their betel leaves, and having nothing else to do with their time, would go 'avanga veetla.......intha ponnu....etc'

It's funny how generation gaps aren't really generation gaps. Are we really more modern, and fair in our perspective? I think, on reflection, its more just the same old prejudice bundled up and expressed in a different way. Oh, the beauty of technology enabling us to do this even in our uber busy lives.

Monday 10 January 2011

Ponderings

It's been a long time since I wrote me last blog. And I've learnt a lot in the midst.

I've learnt that I am very ignorant of the world. I don't know many things. Experience working wiht a team in an intensive atmosphere has taught me so much about myself, and how inadequate I am in dealing with others, and that has nothing to do with who I am, and the fact I am different from others. I was always under the misconception that I was bright, but this was basked in the ignorance of interacting with selected people.

I also, for the first time in my life, submitted an assignment, and that, too, not any assignment, but something we, as a team have been working on all Summer. 3 months of work accumulated together still could not be finished by a deadline that we knew for 7months. The experience of submitting an assignment late is very new. But it taught me about the art of perfection, something that I'd lost along the way. I would always submit an essay earlier/on time, rather than face the tension of an approaching deadline, and not meeting it. What I felt today, was the height of adrenaline, as the clock ticked past and the deadline passed. But I saw and discovered a talent that I had lost. Something, I had as a child. The skill of perfection. I saw it in my teammates and I knew this was the lesson, this was why I was to endure the experience.

I also learnt in these last few days, about a recurring theme in my life. All my really close friends in my life have been close to their mothers. Surely, this is not an accident. Was this God's way of teaching me a lesson? And I just keep failing to learn it.