Anuradha Sridharan

I can finally put a tick mark in my goals list for this year. Yes, I volunteered for Dream a Dream's Computer programme. Being a person who likes to teach (it's in my genes, I suppose), I wanted to volunteer for this programme the first time I heard about it. But due to time constraints and unavailability on certain Saturdays, it could never happen. When I came across Shashank's email a month back, I also realized that this is indeed the last programme for the current academic year. I replied quickly, confirming my participation. The orientation session happened in the serene surroundings at Ananya. I spent a whole day with a bunch of enthusiastic volunteers and our trainer Dr.Rao who explained the minute details of how we should go about teaching kids. He made the session interesting with a lot of anecdotes and activities. It was an eye-opener for me. I was really looking forward to the forthcoming sessions. The next week was a planning session. I volunteered for the ...

Today is the birth centenary of a man who can spin interesting stories with simple words. He is none other than my favourite writer R.K.Narayan. My reading habit was reinstated because of his novel 'Swami and Friends'. Though I have read many of his novels, this one holds a special place. He is definitely one of my inspirational writers. I wish Malgudi is not a fictional town. There are quite a number of villages in India that has a flavor of Malgudi. You can read a couple of my reviews here - Vendor of Sweets , My Days Note to myself : I should go home and read a few pages written by this wonderful author tonight.

Yes, I'm talking about Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu. A well-made action packed thriller. The director deserves a big round of applause for making such a good movie and managing to release the film after the financial hassles. The music was amazing and I started to like the songs even before the movie got released especially Vennilave and Paartha mudhal naaLe. The heroine, the one who comes in the first half is beautiful and her eyes are very expressive. Ofcourse, Jyotika looks stunning in sarees in the song Uyirile. Talking about the hero Kamal, he fits perfectly in the role of a cop although he looks pretty old. The pace of the movie was superb, with Jyotika's part as occasional speed breakers. Some of the scenes were violent, especially the hanging finger amidst lemon and green chillies (dhrishti symbol !!) and the dead bodies. In a perfect movie, what is the need of a dance song with skimpily dressed dancers? That's one of the two negative points I noticed, the other being was...

கருமேக கூட்டம் சூழ்ந்திருக்க செடி கொடி எல்லாம் நின்றிருக்க வந்ததே தென்றல் காற்றும் வந்ததே ! தந்ததே புதுமண் வாசனையும் தந்ததே ! சில்லென்ற மழைத்துளி ஒன்று கையில் வ ந்ததே ! பளிர் என்ற மின்னல் ஒளியும் கண்ணில் தெரிந்ததே ! கதிரவனின் செங்கதிர்கள் மெல்ல மறைந்ததே ! வெண்ணிலவும் மேகத்திரையில் முகத்தை ஒளித்ததே ! இது ஒரு பகலின் முடிவா? இல்லை, இருள்படர் இரவின் தொடக்கமா? இல்லை, வானிலையில் புது மாற்றமா? இந்த நொடிப்பொழுதை கையில் அடக்கவா? இல்லை, வார்த்தைகளில் வடிவம் கொடுக்கவா? இல்லை, என் ராகத்தில் இசையை மீட்டவா?