Sir C V Raman

(Image Courtesy : Britannica)

I was taking a walk in the Physics Department Lobby at University of South Australia. There were a few photo portraits hanging on the wall. I looked at each one of them and as usual looked if I could see any Indian face or not.

There was this picture and a small text about Sir C V Raman. He needs no introduction but if you are interested in his biography here is one (another one). He is the first Asian/Indian to win the Nobel Prize.

Be proud to be an Indian !

Feast India

Image Courtesy : Feast India

Whenever there is some show on the TV that shows India, I dont know about others, I would rather not move out of the place. With the usually boring stuff(Its purely my view on it) from the local televisions in Australia one would never get attracted to the TV sets.

I came across this program on SBS (friday every week). Its called "Feast India". Unlike many other food and life style docs, the host(BARRY VERA) in this one goes for typical street foods and local specials. Given the fact that I have not visited India for more than a year now, my mouth started watering. Briefs on the episodes so far can be found here.

Image Courtesy : Feast India

The best part according to me was the following. You must have seen the master in a tea shop - he(usually) has two big jugs made of AL pouring hot milk from one and bringing down the heat. "Paal aatharadhu". And then pours the hot milk into the tea glasses. The program showed such a teashop and called the master - "The Human Cappuchino Machine".

Looking forward for the further episodes !

College - to - a - IT Job

Most of us, during college days, think of a dream job and nowadays often a dream IT Job. The transition from a student life to a software engineer life is well described by Dinesh.

True !

What drove me into Blogging ?

I should thank the following Bloggers for developing an interest for blogging in me. Teakada, Instant kaapi, Sambhar mafia, Thirumurugan, My ennangal, Lazy Geek and BBThots.

Thanks !

Short(and Soft) Tempered Villian

(Image Courtesy)

Be it a typical Chennai Rowdy in Dhool or be it Kothala Thevan in Virumaandi, Pasupathy has maintained a very good Bad Guy image. Here is a bit on him from Pasupathy's interview - The Hindu.

Good find !

Well, this is how it all started !

(Image courtesy)

Was seraching for the birth place of blogging and hit this one. Well, if you are not particular about the authenticity of the post, one could say Sir Richard Steele was the first blogger(1709) in the world. He circulated his views by writing letters 3 times a week(The Tadler).

Try answering this question, Would we be blogging if not for the Internet ? I would not be. This is one of the many reasons as to why I worship advancements in technology.

Thanks to him !

Indians in SA

Indian Australian Association of South Australia is an association for people of Indian background living in South Australia and for anyone interested in Indian culture. Located in Adelaide, the association organises various cultural and sports activities with prime focus on fun and fellowship. Text and Image courtesy : IAASA.

Another SA association of interest is Shruthi Adelaide.

Remember The Titans

Image courtesy: Disney.

My friend Thirumurugan suggested me to watch this movie. After having done so, now I realise why he did so. Wow - what a movie !

I am not getting into the story because you are sure to get atleast a 100 reviews of this movie when you google it. What really impressed me was the bonus material in the DVD. The movie is based on a true story of living legends. The bonus has features of the real coaches who helped the titans win the games. I was also impressed that the filmmakers have been in constant touch with them while making the movie. It also features the reunion of the 1971 T.C.Titans football team mates. Do not miss this movie and if you can watch the bonus materials on the DVD.

A Very Inspirational Movie !

Big Brother in Germany

Image Courtesy Big Brother Australia.

To what extent a Reality TV show would go to attract people ? If Big Brother Uncut was not enough, here it comes - Big Brother in Germany. You must be knowing about Big Brother in Australia. Big Brother in Germany is on similar lines except that the BB is no longer watching just a House but he watches a Whole Village. A village has been constructed and the cameras monitor the peoiple 24/7.

Magnetic Metro Tickets

I boarded a metro bus yesterday and headed towards my home. If the busy day in the Uni wasnt enough the tickets wouldnt work yesterday. The Validating Machine in the bus did not accept the ticket. I then showed it to the driver and he wrote me a slip with which I can claim the a new Ticket from any metro ticket office.

I had nothing to do last night so decided to do a little research on what might have caused my tickets failure. Well I did find it out. For those who dont know the ticket that I am talking about get detailed information here.

The tickets have a magnetic strip in which the ticket information is stored on. The validater in the buses/trains and trams reads this info and validates the ticket. As per simple magnetism(thanks to my 8th standard physics teacher - I am not able to remember a thing about the magnetic physics) the magnets could be demagnetised in a number of ways. I spend most of my time near the computer and my wallet next to it. From this information given in the Adelaide Metro website, I learnt the many ways in which the magnetised tickets could go demagnetised (See pic below). Images courtesy : Adelaide Metro .

Padayappa Magic

Could there be anything more interesting than a typical Rajini Movie. For some crazy reason I decided to rent Thalaivar's Padayappa movie. I missed most of the dialogs in the theater when I watched the move during the first week(oh yeah - I couldnt get the first day tickets) - well most of us would have. With such a crowd raising voice everytime thalaivar does something good I bet no one would understand all the dialogs.

Image Courtesy : Rajini Fans

It feels like yesterday and the movie was really fresh. There should be some magic with our thalaivar and that should be the secret of his amazing screen presence. The scenes I enjoyed in the movie are

• Thalaivar Intro. "En peru padaiyappa....". Except for the first few lines the rest is thathuvam.
• The scene where Neelambari was about to be hit by a bull. He would save her and tie the rope in a super way.
• After tying the rope he would then with his stylist walk sai "Hai" to soundarya.
• The whole of "Vazhkai yil 1000 thadaikal appa... ". Very inspirational.
• The scene where he would take hand of soundarya as per his mothers wishes. The music would match the slow paced scene very much.
• The very last scene wher he would say "adhigama aasa padara aanum adigama kova padara ponnum nalla vanzdhadha sarithiram me illa". Very apt.

The movie is not boring irrespective of the number of times you watch it.

This is called Thalaivar Magic.

Adelaide O-Bahn

Image courtesy : Adelaide Metro

Have you been in a bus that travels at an 100 km/hr speed within the metro area. Well, if not you have missed the fun.

World's longest guided bus way is here in Adelaide(its been here for many years now I only knew it recently). Its called the Adelaide O-Bahn. It connects the Central Business District with the North Eastern Suburbs in Adelaide. Apart from the fact that the bus travels faster the natural surroundings around the tract caught my attention. Information on how the system works, facts and figures can be found here. If you happen to visit Adelaide use this guide to plan your trip on one of these buses.

A well thought-out and useful system !