Well, for want of a better title I chose this !
Gajabhuja in Sanskrit means the trunk of an elephant !
So, in short, the title means big/huge fundas !! :-)
24 March 2009
A.R.Rahman and Apple
Of all the products you think that Rahman would endorse post his Oscar wins, he now endorses Mac !! Check this out, where he talks about using Mac for scoring Slumdog Millionaire.
As I read news about Nano's launch today, I cannot help wondering whether the launch is at an inopportune moment.
The major target audience of the car is composed of people who would want to convert their family vehicle from a two wheeler to a car. Quite many people in this segment are salaried, and hence, depend on their salaries as their sole sustenance. Now, with this global economic slowdown and what not, it would be interesting to see how many people opt to take a loan to buy this car.
As for the audience that was planning to buy this car for their son/daughter as a car to practice driving on Indian roads, I would wager to think that such an audience forms a rather small segment.
Yesterday, Chennai Runners had their ECR run. I did a 21km run in approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes. Yes, I do need to improve that timing. However, that is besides the point.
It was during the run that I heard a Radio advertisement for Google. That advertisement was however quite smart. It promoted usage of internet on your mobile, searching for good restaurants in your vicinity and the usage of Google to find it.
All in all, it was a neat package. This advertisement was aired on Radio One FM 94.3, chennai around 6.45 AM - 7.00 AM timeframe.
I am trying to get a copy of the advertisement so that I can upload it. The FM player I use, Sandisk Sansa E280 does have FM recording feature. However, I was a bit involved in running that I forgot to use it !
There is a saying in Tamil "கண் கெட்ட பின் சூரிய நமஸ்காரம் எதற்கு ?" meaning "what is the reason to pray to sun god once you are blind ?"
What is the point in passing a bill taxing AIG's bonuses ? There should have been a clause that prohibited such payments when the government bailed it out. Money that leaves the coffers, will never come back.
டெவலப்பர் டீம் போடுறது, லாஜிக் கணக்கு டெஸ்ட்டர் டீம் போடுறது, டிஃபக்ட் கணக்கு மார்க்கட்டிங் டீம் போடுறது, ப்ராஜக்ட் கணக்கு மேனேஜ்மெண்ட் டீம் போடுறது, ரெவன்யூ கணக்கு ஹெ.ஆர். டீம் போடுறது, தலை கணக்கு சிஸ்.அட்மின் டீம் போடுறது, வலை கணக்கு சேல்ஸ் டீம் போடுறது, விற்பனை கணக்கு ரிசர்ச் டீம் போடுறது, கற்பனை கணக்கு கூட்டி கழிச்சி பாரு! கணக்கு சரியா வரும்!
And so here is a e-mail that I got on a very simple and easy manner to explain recession. It uses terms that we laymen are more familiar with ;-)
Linda is the proprietor of a bar in Cork. In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans). Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of customers flood into Linda's bar. Taking advantage of her customers' freedom from immediate payment constraints, Linda increases her prices for wine and beer, the most-consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively.
A young and dynamic customer service consultant at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Linda's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral. At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert bankers transform these customer assets into DRINKBONDS, ALKBONDS and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on markets worldwide. No one really understands what these abbreviations mean and how the securities are guaranteed. Nevertheless, as their prices continuously climb, the securities become top-selling items.
One day, although the prices are still climbing, a risk manager (subsequently of course fired due to his negativity) of the bank decides that slowly the time has come to demand payment of the debts incurred by the drinkers at Linda's bar. However they cannot pay back the debts. Linda can not fulfil her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy. DRINKBOND and ALKBOND drop in price by 95 %. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80 %.
The suppliers of Linda's bar, having granted her generous payment due dates and having invested in the securities are faced with a new situation. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor. The bank is saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock consultations by leaders from the governing political parties (and vested interests). The funds required for this purpose are obtained by a tax levied on the non-drinkers!!!
The fun in living in a boy's hostel is the kind of songs that the inmates sing when they get rejected by the girl's they propose to.
Let's look at how the songs have changed over the years:
If you were in hostel during the late 90's, i.e., 97, 98, or 2000, and if you knew Hindi, Tadap Tadap from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was the rage. And yes, it was indeed an amazing song. No doubt about that.
If you did not know Hindi and knew Tamil, Venmathi from Minnalae was a huge hit.
However, the one song that rules them all is the one from Vaaranam Aayiram, Anjala. A song that has been rendered quite nicely by Karthick, who usually murders songs that have some feel to it. Incidentally, this song has been penned by a female writer.
Blame it on Surya's dance (typical tamizh kutthu dance), the way he enacts on screen or, for a change, some good music by Harris Jayaraj, or whatever, this song is indeed something. The lyrics are quite good too. "Sozhi pola punnagai" -- a smile like a small conch shell, and "Velicham thandhava oruthi, avalae irutula niruthi, jora payanatha kalapi, thaniya yenge ponalo" - "The girl who gave me light, and started my journey has now left me in darkness and has gone away alone"; some nice imagination by the lyricist, who I think is Thamarai.
It should be fun going back to my REC hostel to see how guys have adapted this song !!
I am not making an out and out review of the movie here for I guess it would be better if you go over to the nearest theater and watch this movie in Big screen.
Yaavarum Nalam, also made as 13-b in hindi, is a simple movie and in fact, a no frills movie. However, its strengths are a pretty tight screenplay and some good story telling methods.
The story is simple. A family moves into a new flat and the son notices some strange happenings in the flat. These happenings are told in a fairly interesting and engaging fashion. It does induce a scare or two too !
While this movie does have shades of the movie "Ring", it does not in anyway life scenes or does anything silly.
I just have one gripe with the movie. Why is it that the family is not able to co-relate the happenings on the television with whatever that is happening in their house ? How is that a family that discusses whatever happens on television with their friends, does not discuss this program ?
Special mention must be made for the background score that does manage to induce a scare or two.
I must mention the quality of the audience here. Ramgopal Varma made the hindi movie "Bhoot" a few years ago. There were some scenes in that movie that were definitely frightening. However, the audience were laughing to conceal the scares that they got. No such silly antics were made during this movie, which goes to show the difference in the audience for Hindi and Tamil movies.
