Chill , Paint & Dance ! (1)

Chill

Yeah..6 of us got together at Chilis for dinner...and i realised its not easy having dinner at Chilis...coz 3 of us were there early to reserve a table...and we waited ONE whole hour before we got a place...Prema,, Sam and i were there by 7.00 pm....and we were seated at the waiting area...for One hour....then the guy comes and says..." we have a table for 4...can u all squeeze in?"....and Prema goes...."NO we cant...!!" She would have punched his face for even asking...hahaha...especially after waiting an hour...we deserved a comfortable seating didnt we......? But since the other 3 of our friends werent there yet...we decided to wait a little longer....but its not that we were bored...we always had LOADS of stories to fill any amount of time...and finally we got it....yes !table for 6 ! Then he asks...."Smoking or non smoking?"...and we went in a chorus " WHAATEVER" !

And when all 6 of us were there....we were glad we din agree to the table for 4 since even the table for 6 was pretty small...but none of us felt uncomfortable since we were too busy LAUGHING ! .....usually we laugh for no reasons...but this time...we had the funniest stories shared by one of our friends. ( i wish i could mention it here...but it is a little personal...she'll kill me if i put it here...so to safe my life...got to ...* BEEEP * )

Anyway...as we started off with our appetizers....we thought the place was a little too noisy...we coudnt hear our own voices...so we practically had to shout out to each other....but then slowly by the end of it....i believe...our voices drowned the entire place...we laughed our heads off...seriously....Suba was holding her stomach as it cramped with too much laughing.......and i had tears ! Believe me it was too funny ! Then....all 5 of us took our Hps out at the same time....coincidently....why?....we suddenly rmbrd our husbands...oddly at the same time ......one was sleeping with his baby at home....2 was on the way home....one was waiting for the wife to call so he can come fetch her....haha....yeah so we decided it was time to go...

So...now we are planning the next laughing therapy session...cant wait to see them again..:)

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Paint

My house has been all BEIGE for too long...so decided to splash some colors on it....was worried how it might turn out....but Thank God....I LOVE it ...Though it wasnt easy to paint red....Nantha had to give it 5 coatings before we got the right tone. But it was worth it !

And as for dance.....i decided to skip class that weekend....since there was a lot more to do...the final touches to the house....some deepavali cleaning and all...

So....it was a Vibrant long weekend !!! Had a good time !

ROOTS

I have been wanting to share my experience in tracking down the "ROOTS" but this book had left me so overwhelmed ...that i didnt know where to begin. Anyone born in the 70's and 80's would remember the name " KUNTA KINTE"...and the glimpse of his life story....but anyone who dared read the book...will have an impact so strong on humanity or to be correct INHUMANITY that you cant help despising the cruel side of humankind. Its totally appaling !

It was funny that at some parts like ...when Kunta Kinte tries to escape from his master for the 3rd time after being brutally beaten up for the first 2 attempts...i will be hoping he runs away before the master realises that he is missing....hahaha....i was hoping to change the history...but i cant help it....i SO wanted him to run away...that i wished i could vanish into the book like Narnia and rescue him !!! But no....that doesnt happen does it....God gives ONE n ONLY ONE chance let it be for the GOOD or the BAD....whats done is done....no turning back...so...when he got caught again.... this time the master decides to chop his foot off !!! Arrrgggh....why din he run faster i would think ..to something which took place in the 1750s...hahaha..But the inspiring part was....as he was running the whole night and into the next day....he stops for his sundown prayers ( as he is a Muslim)...now would we...being chased by a few hungry fierce dogs and a master who is ready to kill you ,pause at any point endagering yourself to pray ? Now thats what you call FAITH ! He still BELIEVED GOD would find him the FREEDOM which was a fairy tale at that point of time....and it must have been those thousands of faithfull prayers which carried the vibes to President Lincoln who finally signed to FREE THE SLAVES in 1863.

And justice was finally done to Kunta Kinta and the other tens of thousands tortured slaves

when Obama became the President....it took like 8 generations of prayers to make that change..! So persistency wins !!

Though the world today is no less cruel in many ways....it gives a lot of hope to see people finally coming to respect , understand and love each other breaking all barriers ! So lets not think that one person's prayer will not make a difference in the world....100 one person will create a momentum....so lets be one of them...

FOR PEACE !

The God Of Small Things

"...Rahel groped behind the row of books and brought out hidden things. A smooth seashell and a spiky one. A silver crucifix on a string of beads. Baby Kochamma's Rosary. She held it up against the light. Each greedy bead grabbed its share of sun ........"

Yes...thats just one beautiful line out of the hundreds in this book. What an amazing way to describe the reflection of the sun light on the beads....Each greedy bead grabbed its share of sun.....wow....and believe me....EVERY line in this 321 page book is filled with such words...She created a new English through this book...simply amazing.

As we walk along the road....all we see is the trees, buildings or people and cars maybe...but the author has seen way BEYOND the tiniest of things that the rest of us overlook....the story is simple ...it was the details given to it....that made all the difference...

How would you explain dead fish floating in a river...?

Listen to this ...

"Despite the fact that it was June, and raining, the river was no more than a swollen drain now. A thin ribbon of thick water that lapped wearily at the mud banks one either side, sequined with the occasional silver slant of dead fish.....Once it had the power to evoke fear. But now its teeth were drawn, its spirit spent. It was just a slow, sludging green ribbon lawn that ferried fetid garbage to the sea."

Hmm....this is a river in the town named Ayemenem , Kerala (India) she is talking about . The whole story is set in this state on the southernmost tip of India. Now...if at all i see a dead fish floating in a river ...cant help seeing it as sequins !

And the essence of the story is of course on the GOD OF SMALL THINGS.....which to my understanding means....in our daily life...we face hundreds of small incidents...events....happiness....dissapointments....satisfaction and so on....and when we are so indulged in the VERY small things...we somehow MISS out the truly BIG THINGS....so its important to keep our focus on the Big Things....so the Small things will naturally fall in its place...

This book has won the Englands most prestigious literary award, The Booker Prize in 1997. Its written by an Indian Author, Arundhati Roy.

A MUST READ BOOK :)

Chill , Paint & Dance !

looking foward to the rare combination of Chilling out....Painting and dan dancing over this weekend...since its a long weekend with Monday being public holiday. So have got EXTRA TIME to fill with fun...

Friday will be for friends...bout 7 of us planning to meet up for dinner at Chillis...and of course...that means...we are going to be LAUGHING and LAUGHING for no reasons as usual....

Then...saturday is going to be PAINT PAINT PAINT.....yes...! Painting the house !!! Pretty excited bout that...have bought the paint ...this time not just beige and creams...going a little wild with reds...! WISH ME LUCK !

Sunday....will be dance class....i wander how many are actually going to turn up for class since monday is a holiday....

Then Monday meeting up friends for dinner and movie... :)

Ok then....will get back with the report on these events next week ....!

Last nite....i was at home alone when my friend / Neighbour Suba came over to the house for a visit....we were suppose to take an eve walk.....but there was a strom coming...so just decided to sit at home over a drink and chat.....she came about 7.30pm....and we started CHATTING away...non stop....till all of a sudden it was 10 PM....and i was amazed how the 2 1/2 hour passed in a blink !

As i recalled our topics ....i realised we covered a pretty wide range of things....hahaha....from Dance class...to friends...to LAw of Attraction ...peoples behaviours....politics....having babies.....family....marriages....teenagers...books....H1N1....health issues....excercise.....religion...culture...clothes....work....and more...

WOW ...we covered quite a lot din we....and yes not forgetting...the laughters.. :)

Cant help thinking how we can control time just by filling it with some simple happenings....just where you are...and it makes ALL the difference :)

Thanks to my good friend :)

Pocket-Sized Accomplishments

Went back to dance class after almost an 8 months interval ! I thought i will be aching all over when i wake up the next day...as by now the body would have relaxed and become lazy....but surprisingly i felt very normal and light.....so now i got the confidence to build up my stamina again.....funny thing is ....i am no "DANCER"...of any sort....not flexible enough, not expressive enough...but still, i have been dancing all my life simply for fun and for the love of the art itself....cant seem to stop...felt almost GUILTY not going to class though my dance school is not going miss me in anyway...hahaha...so thats one of my

Pocket-sized accomplishments...that i have successfully pulled myself along this otherwise dusty routine life....and made the journey worthwhile....by doing something

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE.

And of course the "buy one free one" effect of learning indian classical dance is that ....u are constantly treated with beautiful music....it heals every wound so gently...that it doesnt even leave a mark anymore....

And here i MUST thank my hubby for all his support in letting me do it ....i know he appreciates the dance simply because i love it ....and for that I LOVE YOU :)

BHAKTHI ( DEVOTION ) 2009

Last weekend i went for a show "BHAKTI" meaning DEVOTION. This is an indian classical dance performance by the dance school Nritya Kalanjali established in originally in Ipoh.

The dance Guru, Sudha Sasikumar or how i always call her " Sudha ka"....is the most DEDICATED guru i have seen. I first met her when i was just 15 . She was also just 20 years old herself then...as beautiful as she still is now ! I immediately fell in love with her humble appearance...she is ALWAYS in cotton salwar kameez...whether at home or outside..her lovely locks tied up in with a simple hair clip and the only make up would be her kajal.


At that time, i was attending sangeetham classes ( indian classical music ) which was conducted on saturday mornings at the beautiful Kallumalai temple in Ipoh. Sithra (my cousin)and i went for these classes...our guru was Mr Kulaseelanathan from India. And Sudha ka and Master Santiago ( another dance teacher, who at that time wasnt my guru yet ) also attended these sangeetham classes. Thats when we got to know her better and we would be constantly admiring both of them ...she and Master Santiago....


And one day...my uncle who also attended the sangeetham classes with us...suggested we have a little unofficial performance after the class....he requested Sudha ka and Master Santiago to dance for the song " Alaipayuthey Kanna" and our sangeetham teacher to sing it for them. And they did it...! there was no instrumental back up....no stage...no lighting.....just the vocal and the dance...!!! And i was Speechless....we fell in LOVE with the dance and the dancers too !! My heart ached....to learn it....knowing my father was against it...i felt i was in tears for not being able to move along with that beautiful melody the way they were !....that picture of them dancing simply in salwar kameez and kurta with no rehearsals or practices was surreal.......simply pure !


And eversince that day...the thought of learning dance was stuck to my mind....so intensely that i would cry everytime i see someone else perform. Thats when Sudha ka....started her Bharatha Natyam classes at her house and my other 2 cousins (twins), Malini and Rubini were learning from her. Gosh...i had sleepless nights....thinking if i should take the chance and ask my father since now i have a back up reason which is ....my 2 cousins are going so why not me !...and guess what? it WORKED !!! it was like the heavenly gate opening up for me....and of course i was a good reason for Sithra to join as well ...hahaha...so we all went together...the four of us...

Then started the .....endless....thaiya thaiya thei thei tham sequences at Sudha ka's house in Bercham Ipoh. I waited all the 5 other days just for the 2 magical days at her place....and from there we slowly picked up the adavus....and Alaripu and jathiswaram...and we were enjoying it sooo much.....till it came to Patham of course....oH NO ...EXPRESSIONS !! And we had one other MAJOR problem.....Sasi uncle ( Now Sudha ka's husband) will be there in the house watching the class....! and we would be sooo uncomfortable....unable to do expressions at all !....I am pretty amazed that Sudha ka never slapped our DUMB faces ...she was too patient...hahaha...!

Hmm well....then ..wen i was 18 years old...i received a birthday card from Sudha ka....and i was sooo touched by it...i remember i was at home...that morning...when my uncle came and passed it to me... ( sudha ka was working at my uncle's law firm then ) since that day i became even closer to her....Sithra and i actually adored her ! Then she got married....and had later left to KL....we were pretty crushed when we learnt that she was moving to Kl....and thats when we shifted to Master Santiago's classes....then...Nithya who was 4 years old....joined us too...so all5 of us will go to class together ...twice a week ! Thank god all our houses are only 5 mins drive from each other....so we all went in one car....driven by either Nithyas mom or Sithra's father....


So thats how the next 10 years passed

....dance ...school....dance....exams...navarathiri performances.....school holidays..................dance again...school........dance.......campus.....semester break.....dance again.....back to campus.......

This routine came to a halt when i got married....and ended up in KL...and again i longed for the dance....till Sutra opened its heavenly gate again in my life....and i fell in love with Odissi ! And the 3 years as a student there had made ALL the difference in my life...i LOVE my life in KL just for the reason i was able to be in Sutra ! I prefered everything else in IPOH ...hahahaha...

hmmm...anyway...coming back to Sudha ka....even after she had to move permanently to KL....she travelled tirelessly every week to Ipoh to conduct classes....and she has been dancing all her life....with all the commitments of being a mother , wife, daughter and sister....isnt that GREAT ! yes a big thank you to Uncle Sasi who had been supporting her all the while...simply because he loves the art form too !

And now at the show.....Bhakti ....how appropriate the name ....i saw her perform again....with her 2 lovely talented daughters....I pray that God would bless her family forever ! And as personal note to Sudha ka....." Thank you for opening the new path to my life' i cant imagine what kind of person i would have been if not for the magical influence of the GREAT ART FORM ! it definitely makes a reformation of the soul...pushing you a little closer to its natural order... and for that...

Thank you Sudha ka....LOVE u lots !