Sunday, December 25, 2005

a few more hours..


I have been waiting for this day for the past two years.A few months of shopping , a few days of packing , a few days of planning ,a few nights of dreaming about being with loved ones .A realization that far away from where i live are a few souls, who love me , my existence in this world make a difference in their lives .Despite their busy lives they take a few moments to think about me and miss me for not being around .

While the whole of america travels on X-mas to be with their loved ones , a season which brings happiness in million of souls .I am finally headed to a place which i can call it my own.Have i loved it so much always or the feeling of being away from it has trigered this passion..what ever the reson may be this is the happiest day of my life.I have a flight to catch in a few more hours..

"I am Leaving on a Jet plane , dunno when i be back again ...."

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Great Blog !!!

Joseph has an amazing photo blog .The pics he posts are full of life , on thoose evenings when i feel away from home his pictures makes me smile .Take a look at his collection and let me know how you feel.This is my favorite pic.Let me know yours ??



His lines for his above pic


I give my hand to you,
Hold me tight;
I make my life yours
Make it sweet;

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Latest Tunes




Listening to Kalvanin Kadhali & Sanda Kozhi both by Yuvan !!
Favorite Song: Tajmahal OviyaKadhan by Vijay Yesudas (Kalvan Kadali )

Other nice numbers :
Eno Kangal (Kalvanil Kadhali)
Dhavani Potta Deepavali (Sanda Kozhi)

Listen to theese two Movie songs in
Raaga.com and tell me what do you feel about it ??


Here are the reviews in India Glitz

Will I be out of Place?? In Chennai


Born and brought up in Chennai ,at the age of 17 my dad thought he had enough of me and sent me packing to Allahabad,Uttar Pradesh for engineering .When I made a unsuccessful attempt to come back home at 21 with a job in IT industry my mom played her deadly emotional card and shipped me to Los Angels.

Last time I was in Chennai was in Summer 05 ,the maximum I spent in a day in Chennai was Rs 100 .Movies at Sathyam , Beasant Nagar beach , restaurants in Anna Nagar , Coffee day , Landmark , Connexions ( Anna Nagar) ,Dishnet HUB were my favorite spots.While I was busy studying in US my friends were Blowing their pay Slips in bars , discos , Star Hotel ,Mayajal and other happening places in chennai which I haven't even heard of .

When I am all set to visit Chennai in Jan 2006 , I am wondering if I would be a stranger in my own home town Will I need people to tell me what to do ? Where to go ?. When I meet my college , High School buddies will I be able to chill out with them ?? Or feel lost in translation ?


Has any one had such experience when you were back home in India ??

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Bonded by Web!!

Shiv , Narayanan , Jagan



Petrified Forest



Napa Valley


Natural Geyser




The Chennai/Tamil Blog Community has expanded in the recent months Venkitu is a very prominent name among our Blogger Community .It just took one week between his first Comment on my Blog , to Spend an amazing week end with his family.

Flash Back of my Trip . Started and ended with amazing Dosas and Idlis from Uma (Narayanan's Wife) Definitely the high point of my trip .Me ,Jagan another blogger from Chennai and Narayanan went to Wine tasting in Napa Valley with a little buzz from Wine we got a glimpse of natural Hot Geyser and finally we walked through the trails of Petrified forests thinking how small is the world .Strangers a week ago we are having a blast now .We Clicked a lot of Snaps and I am sure you will read more about it in their Blogs .Late at night we went to watch Harry Potter's latest movie with his kids .

I am not sure if my fellow bloggers will get opportunity to spend time with Such lovely hosts like Uma and Venkittu, but this will go in my dossier as most unselfish show of affection to fellow Indians in a alien land.

We are planning to have many more week ends like this ,but for the first one thanks to BlogSpot.com.Jagan is planning to come over to my house for a week end this month so I guess I found a new "Macchi " in my life .

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

AARU ..mujic a surprise


YuvanShankar Raja , Harris and ARR are bound to deliver every time .I wouldnt even bother to listen to any one else .The music of Aaru
turned out to be a suprise .I liked a couple of songs .
The songs are available for download at www.mohankumars.com

Theese lines are mesmerising me ...

"Parkathe enna parkathe kuthum parvaiale enna pakade "
( Too tough for me to translate)

"Nenjum ennum oorinile kadhal enum thervinile "
(It the city of heart a street named love )

A funny song "freeaa Vudu" sung by our very own vadivelu and Jassie Gift was suprise package .Over all a good album .Let me know what you guys think

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Beer adi!!


Lot of elders ,friends have told me to be prepared for the worst .
They would say to me "BE READY " ..but i got it as "Beer adi "
is that my fault !!!.How many of you have done the same mistake !!

Ending my blogging for the week end ona funny note !!!

Saturday, November 12, 2005

why Tamil music matters the most to me !!



When we say music has no language , how are some fancinated by english ,other by hindi and me by tamil .I dont attach ego to lot of things in life .But tamil music and chennai are things that i fiercely argue with any one claiming it to be best.Many a times i wondered if were to date a blonde american girl ,american born desi girl (dei dei ..ithu konja too much illa )the date would end when i say all i listen to is Tamil Music .

You know what a person should be liked for what he is , tamil music is a vent for all my feeling .While i listen to music for hours to gether there are a few lines in each song that catch my attention ..some time it bring gloom ..sometimes happiness .I am going to post every week the lines that touched my soul .To start with here are a few

Listen to this and tell me if it made sense to your life !!

Kala changli meendum inayalam ..kadal changili inayade .
translation:( Time Chain can rejoin but in love when the connection is lost its lost for ever)
Name of the Movie : Oru Kaloorin in kathai
Title of the Song : Kangal Kalangida

Oru kaloori in kadhai

Somebody Gonna Get Hurt Real Bad !!!


Lot of people say they are fun loving , funny and have a good sense of humor .Humor is something that needs to be part of every conversation . Many a times people elder to me have told "Shiv , u need to grow up and be serious ".Shamelessly i will crack a pj "If i am serious then u guys have to take me to the doc".Juss kidding ..has always been a integral part of my sentence mostly the latter part of it.

I had the opportunity to watch Russel Peter Live in San Jose California .It was an amazing experience .All his jokes were impromptu , he picked on a indian girl who was sitting with a white dude and asked here whether they were dating , in a typical deshi style she said " We are jussst friends". Russel winks his eyes and says " We are just friends , he some time sleeps over at my place and i some times at his " ...the girl must have been embarassed.

I would definitely Recommend every one to track if he is visiting any place closer to where you live and go visit him .

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Diwali in California aka Home away from home



At 4pm pacific time I was sitting in my office in California .Diwali
it is in India .In chennai where I am from ,Young kids with their new
clothes would be bursting crackers ,women clad in their kancheepuram
saris prepaing for Lakshmi pooja.Sweets are prepared weeks in advance and are being distributed to Neighbors friends and family.As I was driving back to home I asked myself what was the point of living in US when my heart truly was else where ?wouldn't it be great if I were in India celebrating Diwali ?

I had a dinner invitation at my colleague's place .He is more of a
friend and well wisher .Murali and Shashi had hosted diwali dinner for a few of their friends and I am lucky to be part of it.I entered their house to a warm smile of shashi wishing me happy diwali , a few people had gathered before me .Smell of great food was was in the air and we started talking merrily about various topics.
All serious topics were turned into banters by muralis one liners aka kadi jokes.It is amazing how in new county where I know
only a handful of people, far away from the buzz of diwali in India I was having a great evening .Small deeds of affection ,love and care goes a long way in making people's life better .

This diwali is among my cherishable moments and no prizes for guessing for who made it memorable.



First Pic : The feast

Second : Shashi&Murali (hosts) ,my mentor at work murali ,Umesh nd kartik ( Colleagues)

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Sick Day


Weather in Roseville,California had changed dramatically , this week its been gloomy and cold evey day .Today i woke up and i was feeling tierd and weak so decided to take a day off from job and take rest.

Treated myself to tomato rice ,and boiled egg and decided to spend some time reading my new book MiddleSex by Jefferey Eugenides .

Cricket it is




My mom reads my blog and she was saying i was getting very serious in life .So i thought i will post some lighter side of me ..and it matters to me in coherence to the central theme of my blog.

Saturday was the Last Cricket game of the Season , i play in the Sacramento Cricket League .I am the opening batsman for my team RCC-2 .Here are a few pictures of the last game .Hope you guys like it.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

What does Charity mean to you



The world has been divided into two hemispheres one are the have and the other being
have not .The Indian Crowd settled in america definitely falls under the "have"category. We are a set of people who have crossed oceans leaving the loved ones behind seeking green pastures.There are many problems that that we face when we immigrates to a a alien land.People arrive here with lot of dreams and go through lot of travails to achieve them .

But when each one of you get up in the morning , feed yourself to a bowl of Kellogg and start the ignition of you Toyota corolla parked in a nice appartment or a private home pause , stop and think for a minute .Forget about your problems in life like the Gas prices being high , ever rising real estate market,and your never ending Credit Card dues , you are definitely better than those people in India whose every day meal depend on their daily wage , young children who work in mechanic shops , grocery stores these children who haven't seen the Funskool toys that your kids play with , these children who have never stepped inside a school nor did they have new clothes for diwali when you happily bought clothes for your entire family on a Halloween Sale in Macy's.

Many of us including me have talked hours about the corruption in India and how Indian Society cannot improve unless we educate the masses did we do anything about it NO!!!.Gandhi rightly said"Be the Change you want the world to be".

This was a prelude to a question that I ask my friends What Does Charity mean in your Life ?I had asked this question to my close circle of friends here in Sacramento , we call ourselves ASJOBASH (AShok Bala Jom and SHiv ) . This is what we had decided. Every time one travels to India we would collect money from friends and family in US and give it to him .He rather than donating it an organization would identify a cause in his town or his native Village and would spend one week end of his vacation visiting a place and helping the Kids ,family, old people get what they need the most with the money he has assimilated before his journey .Lot of people living in US are short of time , trust me it is very difficult even to
think of issues like this with such a busy schedule .

Charity starts at home ,the house maid that works in your parents house could be your stepping stone to charity .You can graciously offer to take the expense of her kids education expenses until the time you can afford , you can visit a Local school where a small amount of slum dwellers manage to send their kids and agree to sponsor one kid from high school to obtain a College Degree .

India is a country with a lot of problems and these problems needs
modern solution .Educating poor Children is the definitely a noble deed .Every Child who is educated illuminates the lives of their family , inspires his friends to strive for success like him .A small deed of charity towards a poor child's education could change many lives.

Visit www.vibha.org and see what is happening in your city in US and look into their current projects and see how you can make yourself useful to this world which has given you so much to be happy about, share your joy of learning with others and make a difference in lives of people back home in India .I am planning to Volunteer for the Sacramento Chapter of Vibha Are you going to?????

Whats Success to you ??



Whats Success to You ??

I stopped by barnes and noble this afternoon and I picked up a book Called Success .It is not some self claimed Guru giving tips to be successfull but quotes of great people about Success .Success is relative to evey person and hence theese are few ways I define Success let me know if any one of you agree to some of the following.

1.Your Life is a Success if even one life has breathed easier because you lived.

2.If you feel Secure with the certainity that this is the way life will always be.


I am going to add to the list as i read through the book in meantime
if any of you (My fictional blog readers) can post your definition of success .

SHIV420


I decided to get a Custom License plate and i wanted SHIV on it ...but i need three more letter to fill it up with .So i popped a question to my Bro who without thinking said 420 ( Char so Beez) .I like an obedient younger ordered thoose and here is how it looks on my car .

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Leader ..Leadership ..Captain ....CEO What are they all about ???


My mom wants me to do an MBA and become a CEO .My Mom is ambitious sometimes impractical but for sure she inspires me ..And makes me think .Ok lets say I want to be a CEO of a big corporation .What skills do I need ?

This question leads to bigger question so is there a set of skills one need to gain to become a leader or are leaders born with those abilities thing I always believed in is if you want to be a leader you need followers you need them to trust you .To make this happen you need to lead by example and prove that you are truly worth their devotion .Many successful leaders were those who being among peers demonstrated great skill and ability and his own peers escalated him to Leadership.Self proclaimed leadership is dangerous .When it comes to leadership no article is complete without mentioning the dictators .Hitler ,Saddam ,Mussolini all ruled by terror .Is that the right way ? No it is not .

According to me a good leader is one who commands respect by his action ,is in good faith of his followers and leads them to a path of prosperity and protects them in moments of adversity .So is leader a GOD ?? And who is GOD by the way?? .I believe every man who does good to fellow human beings is god .Love is God.Leadership is a blessing and it needs to exercised with utmost care.

For thoose who dont know who this Guy is he is NarayanaMurthy the Former CEO of INFOSYS .If in future i happened to be a leader i would want to be like him .

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Are you born creative or you become one.


I have spent hours wasting TV and browsing the internet aimlessly .But When some one asks me "Hey ship what are your interests". I would proudly say "Listening to Tamil music and playing cricket".That's when the inner me says "Common dude Tamil Music is fun I agree whats up with cricket who does not play it , tell me something different".

Usually the person asking me the question follows it up with "Do you play any instruments ? Any games like tennis ? Basketball? (People in India consider cricket part of life like Breakfast , lunch ,Cricket and Dinner ).No No no.How about Photography ,painting ? .Thank god some releif ,with great pride i would say " I take a lot of fotos".

Many time I wondered was it the place that you grew up ,your parents motivation ,
your friends ,that inspire you to become creative or is it just you who is responsible for it .Shamelessly I have put the blame on my MOM saying that all she wanted me to do was to Study and I did that obediently but MOM did not encourage me do creative things.

Artists ,painters , writers need a congenial environment do pursue their creative
endeavourer's wait a minute they were artists first before they seized an environment .

SO for all those people out there who are blaming it on the city you grew up ,school you studied , your strict MOM .Its time to think about the new things in life you want to experience .You need first think ..think deeply ..Think differently and think a lot .These are the first few steps to make your thought creative .

Friday, September 09, 2005

Tamil Music


"Thamizhe en Moochu Thamizhe en peeche ".Interest in tamil Music and Movies was rubbed on to me from my dad (I refer him with love as Sundar) which also happens to be my last name.There are many things in life which i conciously refuse to accept .Western Music ,Rock ,Metal ,Metallica , Ozzy are some of thoose .

My roomate katik Iyer a ardent Rock fan who lives and breathes rock he also has a passion for drumming .While he used to listen to Rock all the time , i used to seize a few minutes to play my AR Rahmans , Yuvan Shankar raja and Harris Jeyaraj . He has a collection of say 100 rock Cds which he carries with him during our trips .Slowly as days went by Kartik who is a tamilian by birth was getting attracted to tamil music .The final blow was struck when we both went to watch Anniyan in San Jose he was mesmerized by the movie and by its songs.We watched the movie three times later .Listened to the songs every morning for about a month .From then on when we are travelling no Tool ,Dave mathews or fity Cent .Kartik would tell me "kannum Kannum podu da" meaning play the Kanum Kanum song from Anniyan .

Today i was hangin out with kartik in the evening he knows about the latest tamil songs more than i do , he calls me up at my cube to tell me abt the lattest Thotti Jaya songs by Hjeyaraj ."Dei Shiv Thotta Power song Super da"

I am really happy that i got Kartik in touch with his tamil side .Something i got intersted being with him was Stand up Comedy "Dave Chappel B!@#ch "