Anuradha Sridharan

One strange act I keep observing among the bus conductors these days is adding a few coins everyday to their pockets (Yes, I mean it). My home is very close to my office and I use the public transportation to travel this short distance. Many a times, the bus conductor asks for 3 or 4 rupees and never gives a ticket. When I ask him/her (there is no gender bias here !) to give me a ticket, they claim that the ticket price is 6 rupees. Initially I didn't understand this (I'm a tuby, isn't it?). Then when I thought about it for a while, I understood what was happening. If you are going to get down within a couple of bus stops, there is no need of a ticket and the conductor pockets the few coins. That's what he claims. Given the crowd of local bus transportation in Bangalore and the absence of ticket checkers (I haven't seen one in the past four years here ! I had seen many ticket checkers in metro trains in Chennai) , I wonder what would be the total amount these con...

There are many movies where you expect good songs but they turn out to be disappointed (Did I mention about God Father before?). There are few movies where you don't expect anything (you are not even aware such movies actually got released) but the songs turn out to be mind blowing. Few such songs from the new Tamil releases below. Let me know if you agree (or disagree) :-) Unnai Kandene in Paarijaatham is such a beautiful song. There is a breeze of freshness in the female singer's voice. Such a romantic song it is ! The beats are amazing. I heard that the music director Tarun is a new face. Very good debut, Tarun. I have no words to appreciate the lyrics. Ragasiyamanadhu Kaadhal in Kodambakkam is another master piece of melody. Thanks to Sun Music, I get to hear this song almost everyday. I don't have any idea about when this movie got released and who are those actors. I couldn't recognize the male singer but I know for sure that the female singer is Harini, one of ...

A huge verandah it was, open to the sky ! Green grass was spread on the floor like a bed. Little Tinu had come home early from school. The headmaster had agreed to let the kinder garden kids leave soon, fearing it might rain heavily. Tinu was pretty excited to see the dark clouds, threatening to pour down. He sat on the grass bed, observing them. He could recognize the different faces the clouds depicted. He could make out a lion's head, a goat's horns and a crow's beak. He didn't mind the fact that his house doors were locked and no one was there at home. He was enjoying the weather, the looming clouds and the cool breeze. He felt the first drop of the rain on his cheek. His joy knew no bounds. He was about to experience the first rain in his four years of life. His mom had never allowed him to play in the rains, fearing he might catch cold. He started counting the droplets - oneeeee, twoooo, threee, four, five....He couldn't catch up with the speed of the rain dro...

Gulab Jamuns, Rasgullas, Soan Papdis, Gajar Ka Halwa - Is your mouth watering reading these delicious desserts? I got this craving for Indian desserts. Craving might be a lighter word, perhaps. I love them and I simply adore these delicacies. Whoever invented these, God bless their souls. From my childhood, I always preferred Indian sweets to any other kind of desserts. Even now, when I had to choose between the two cuisines served during lunch at office, I always choose the one which has a better dessert; And if there is gulab jamun in one of the menus, I don't even take a look at the other menu. I still remember those rasgulla tins my dad used to buy during Diwali. I never eat jamuns or rasgullas in one go , rather I relish them bite by bite, slowly as the piece melts down in my tongue. Hmm....heaven ! Donuts, pies, pastries and puddings can never even come close to what the Indian sweets offer to our taste buds. Even the simplest sweet of all, Payasam (Kheer) - doesn't it ta...