To The Crazy ones who change the World

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, one of the first few things he did was to make this ad campaign – Think different. An ad featuring the crazy ones who can think crazy enough to change the world we live in.

We have come across them in our lives. They have made us. They have moulded us. They have transformed us. We are probably what we are because of what they did. They are not the popular ones, They are the ones who made the Popular ones…

Our Teachers.

If it was not for her, we wouldn’t have learnt computer science early in our school days. We wouldn’t have read newspapers in our morning assembly and relayed some tough words for us like Gloucestershire. Our English wouldn’t have been decent enough for us to make a living with a multinational company. She transformed the whole school in the late 80’s and 90’s and made us come out of just the mother tongue and the state language.

Our first line in programming “10 REM ADDITION” was the first step towards what we call “the IT Industry” now, made possible by him. With just a Genie key board, TV and a Cassette reader. GW BASIC.

He would walk in and we would expect to be read from a book. But he brought us a Cassette player and taught us French the harder way. Listen, grasp the words, say it, pronounce it. We couldn’t forget the Indicator joke each time he told – “Ca va, Ca ne va pas …”

Because it wasn’t just about reading the experiments and writing them in the exam. He kindled us by making us think what happens when you turn on a torch light, run at more than the speed of light and see. You see yourself turning on the light. We wouldn’t have understood zilch of Interstellar, if not for all the physics.

And so on and so forth…

This world is filled with a whole lot of crazy geniuses who look simple and regular for all of us. They are hell bent in doing only one thing in our lives. To change us, to transform us, to make us not what we want to become, but what the world needs out of us.

To all of them … The Teachers.

Happy Teacher’s Day !

You make the World better.

The fanciness in the simplicity of Idly Dosa – iD

In the 80’s and early 90’s the meaning of restaurant for us as kids was to go to a simple “hotel” and have Dosa and Idli, may be end it with Badam milk or Rose milk. Puri, Chappathi were fancy. Biriyani meant only for non-veg days. Compare that to now, our generation is exposed with too much variety that Idly and Dosa have become too simple.

iD is a brand that used to sell readymade flour for Dosa and Idli, and may be chappathi and paratha ready to cook as well. I had less hope and fanciness for the brand, before I discovered their new outlet at Neelangarai, ECR. I was simply not expecting it to be this.

A fresh new clean looking space with rather good

iD Restaurant, Neelangarai, ECR

interiors and a kitchen that stands in the middle of the dining hall.

For any restaurant before you get into the bells and whistles what really matters for all of us, is the food. iD ensures you have taste and variety of Idlis, Dosas, Appam, Uthappam, Paratha, desserts and beverages. We had Mushroom masala dosa, Pesarattu, Appam, Mini Idli and of course the Classic Idli. To put it simply, iD would join the list of frequently visited very soon for the great tasting food served in clean sterilised steel plates and cups.

Kitchen in the middle of it all

The service was good as well as efficient. One person, in our case it was Karuppasamy who took and managed our order, but the service of ordered items were done by whoever was available to serve. This ensures efficiency by distributing the “servers” across tables and decentralizing them from serving only 1 table. Sorry to sound like an IT guy, hey that’s who I am !

I would have to say that this place would be worth a visit than the usual likes of Hot chips, Saravana Bhavan or Sangeetha. They have good Breakfast and Lunch options and timings as well. In fact, I may return later to try their dishes during breakfast and their advertised veg meals (Rs. 150/-) for lunch, may be some other day.

The price is on the higher side, but not by too much. You get what you pay for in terms of the cleanliness, friendly staff, quality service and tasty food. (You don’t get those fast cooked half white Dosas like the others). The interiors and ambience is pretty good, but it can get very noisy due to lack of sound absorbing elements. Wall paintings, sound absorbing boards/panels, playing music through good quality speakers will ensure quality ambient sound levels. The outlet also has ample parking space with Valet service.

If you live by the ECR areas or pass by that side, iD is a place to visit for your simple meal/tiffins.

A First bill in my life that had this than the amount

Finally we were treated with a bill that first read the pleasantries and not just the food bill. They sure mean service as their strength and I with them luck, to stand by what they believe in. Because, restaurant business is a crowded space and differentiating in whatever aspects you can, makes you stand out and makes people come back over and over again.

There is fanciness in simplicity.

Reviewed in Zomato with a rating of 4.5

 

Music sans wires

It was the eve of Christmas 2015 and little did I know that I would walk into, of all the places in the mall, The Bose Store. Bose is not my favourite. I just feel they are too pricey and sickeningly lifestylish. You can get better sounding gear for less or same price.

But, Life always surprises you and so did the Bose Soundtouch series Wireless speakers. Beware that this is only an user opinion and not an expert review. After using it for nearly 8 months now, I can only say that the Bose Soundtouch 10 wireless music system is an integral part of my daily music experience.

(Courtesy: Bose India)

It was quite a lucky encounter actually as I took the Soundtouch 10, 20 and 30 for a spin. 10 is the cheapest and 20 is pricier with Display unit while 30 is the humungous hulk. I had points from my credit card and it was redeemable at the store directly. I couldn’t hesitate purchasing the 10 as I took it for some spin with Hello by Adele, Mazhai vara poguthe from Yennai Arindhal and the Theri theme.

Strengths:

1. Deep rich bass for the size of a dictionary and weight of just over a kilo. The booms in Theri theme went so deep and wide from the rear firing port. Quite unexpected.
2. Voice and mids were quite stable at normal volumes – 50 to 60%, although going above that could be taxing to ears. But surprisingly it sounds very rich for such a small system. Perfect enough for Ilaiyaraaja Music.
3. Highs could beg for more. But for casual listening from a small aesthetically shaped unit that can blend over your bed side table or your book shelf, this is plenty you can get. Beatles, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd etc do sound well enough.
4. Apparently this is the “Best Value” Wifi/bluetooth enabled speaker in the market. Sonos or other similar brands would cost higher and not easily available here in India.
5. Presets. I just love them. You can mark an album or playlist to each number on top and it will simply play it when you choose any of it. Very handy feature and I have an album set for each selection.
6. It does Flac/Alac and High res – 24/96. Who would have thought ! If your wifi signal is weak it may stutter but otherwise it streams it rather beautifully and definitely sounds “hi-res”ish !

Weakness:

1. I felt after a few months of usage, I could have got the 20 which has the display with clock and artists/song. The 20 also sounds richer and better.
2. Bose probably doesn’t want to pay Apple, so they had stopped Airplay from this version on. This I miss badly as I have to bluetooth it instead of Airplay which is better streaming quality.
3. No support for Apple music. Again I have to Bluetooth it. Give me a choice and I don’t want to use Bluetooth at all for my Music, but at least it is better that Bose has done a decent job to tune it better.

Overall, this is a good music system for your Bedroom/study room listening. Obviously you can buy more than one to make it Multi room listening, but I just haven’t started believing in the euphoria of Multi room listening yet !

Halena …

And as I typed Halena, WordPress tried to correct it to Helena.

If you know the song All rise by Blue or if you get a chance to hear it, you will know the origin of the song June Pona by Harris Jayaraj from the movie Unnale Unnale.

I am not sure if Halena is an extract from a Spanish song, it could very well be, but the tune seems to set in your head. A slow hip hopish romantic duet served Harris style is very catchy and foot tapping. Do listen !

Other songs in the album will probably take a bit of time to catch up on me, but Halena seems to rhyme in fast.

Movie: Iru Mugan by Anand Shankar. I wouldn’t underestimate this movie as Anand Shankar’s Directorial debut Arima Nambi was quite a surprise package, which moved tightly frame to frame till the end.

and it’s Vikram … Who could have missed his one man show in “I”.

Would it help ?

We have learnt about the cold war in history. But we only tried to an extent write a few paragraphs for a 10 mark question, that may be left in choice. The understandings and implications are hard when you actually see it through a movie when you grow up.

There are no weapons but even an act of a surveillance hovering around enemy territory to take pictures is an act of war. The Soviet and US during the 50s differed in their nationalist ideas and any move that they could make between each other to gain the upper hand is what it is all about. A Cold war, a war on superiority of information and knowledge over each other.

That’s it. And how worse it could feel …

Spielberg’s Bridge of spies shows the tussles of an unlikely insurance lawyer hired as a defendant for a Russian spy in the court of justice of US constitution. What is merely an eye wash to support the constitutional rights of fare trial, becomes serious. One wouldn’t understand why Jim Donovan, the protagonist (played by Tom Hanks) had to take the defense seriously, after all he is a Russian spy and not in the interest of Americans. You may come to know when he meets the Judge at his residence.

What happens next in Germany with the backdrop of the Berlin wall incident is an extremely intense drama that you may not have expected. Only Spielberg could make this, or may be Zemeckis. Tom Hanks was easily Jim Donovan without a doubt and he made all the conversations interesting. Very interesting, you can actually learn and apply these negotiation skills at work.

This movie is obviously not made for everyone, but on a patient evening with nothing bothering around you, you will like it because of the central characters and their depth surrounding the story.

Luckily, Bridge of Spies is coming up on Zee Studio HD this Aug 15th at 1PM and 9PM and I would say don’t miss it.

For the love of Spielberg and Hanks, a True story portrayed very interestingly.

Would it help ? When you watch it, you will know.

Since the 80’s … Untouchable … a.k.a Kabali

Kabali is an intensely laid out gangster drama that Rajinikanth need not have acted.

And yet …

One must be wondering what went into the mind of Rajini when he selected this script. The ever shining superstar gracefully let Kabali take over the Rajini and presented the audience with something that they probably did not expect to see. It must have been a bold decision and quite a transforming one for the actor. It is relishable for some of us who liked him in more characteristic roles like Mullum Malarum and Dalapathi.

Kabali did not want to be seen as just a Robinhood style crime lord who saves and protects his folks, but he was seen as the yearning one. The one who lost his life that he loved before becoming the Gangster. The longing and anticipation intensifies on the news of his wife and daughter. Kabali takes over Rajini fully in such scenes. The sighs, the facial expressions and ultimately the walk into the field and letting out oneself and the final
reunion was totally off the Rajini charts. In fact there was no Rajini and only kabaleeswaran, not even the Kabali, original Gangster.

Ranjith’s intention was clear enough to not just show the Gangster, but to show more of the man behind and the family he sought in a social setting in Malaysia. Commendable.

Background scores are usually tailored for Rajini’s presence but Santhosh Narayanan clearly wanted to stand out with the slow themes of Vaanam parthen, The romance with Maya nadhi tunes and ultimately the heavy guitar riffs for the Gangster Kabali. None of them had Rajini signature and they were wonderful and fresh in that way for
Rajini and Kabali. The Kabali Swag goes top notch on the Roof top party when Kabali walks in. Can I get a separate CD for the BGMs alone please ? I would buy one for the retail price if available.

Ranjith has used the Supporting cast from his previous movies Atta Kathi and Madras, but they were no more than a long cast shadow that disappears in the evening sun. None of them touched and were probably over shadowed by the importance of the central characters. Tony and Kishore were not a matching Villians for Kabali, as much as Anthony was for Baasha. Yogi was a surprise and Radhika apte acted naturally through her eyes.

Above all, Rajinikanth comes out with an epitome of acting, not satisfying the regular punch dialogue loving fans, but more for the fan base who loved him through movies like Dalapathi. It is evidently natural that Rajini shed Rajini, in every scene. After all, it is not in every movie that Rajini gets beaten, injured, shot at, over and over. Not at all.

Ranjith did well with Rajini. A Gangster drama that Rajini need not have acted and yet Ranjith made it to stay strong only through Rajini. A Paradoxical non-blunder.

Kabali, to be watched again after the Rajinism expectations fizzle out, to understand and enjoy the real story behind.

Spoiler: It was only logical for the lawmakers to strike at the root. After all, It was under the good natured human, Tamilnesan that the Gangsters of Good and Evil formed and it is only going to be of the same way under Kabali as well. It was not a choice but more of the right action that had to be taken. Tiger became the unsuspecting pawn for the last frame.

 

Relax…Let it be…

New year resolution. That means, you swear by something on Jan 1st, the New year day and then you mark it as resolved by Jan 2nd. So, 2016 with the pretext of not taking any resolution, I am actually taking a non-resolutionistic paradoxical resolution:

Relax…Let it be…

Ok, but it doesn’t mean that I am just going to Relax and let things be as it is. It is actually a fantastic complex cosmological resolution that is far more simple and abstract than Zen. It is as vague as Arthur Dent not getting the hang of Thursdays. Now, I am not making any sense.

Let’s say I have a list of steps to do for accomplishing a particular idea or a thing on a particular day. As a first step, while I make plans, I need to keep myself open to the fact that plan gets screwed up all the time. That means, I start by not expecting the steps to happen as per the plan at the same time or in the same order or both. This is the part where I need to “Relax”. This is compulsively complicated for many of us modern workers, because we have goals and chase targets. We get shit crazy when things go out of our hands and lose control.

Relax and only try to do the next possible logical step. Add hope or faith that it will get done eventually as part of your list of steps. Either that, or it will find a logical day for completion and somehow fit into the bigger realm of things. The idea is to focus on the next logical step like Thala Dhoni.

Now, the part where I need to “Let it be” is the craziest because I cannot let anything in the world to be what it should be, including myself. Some say “Let go”, for me it is outright blunder because when you let it go it goes nowhere, just hides in a convenient place in your mind. So “Let it be” is about consciously putting it in your mind and not worrying about it. Phew, wish I could really be able to follow this so called “Let it be”. The feeling is more like you had a heavy tasty meal but you feel blocked by the gas and then you execute this universal “Let it be” rule, you belch out the enormous sub woofer sonic gas and then you start seeing roses and daises out of the Joy of relief, from gas.

But I will be able to “Let it be” only if I “Relax” and I can Relax only If I “Let it be” ! There, I have now reached singularity.