With the creative artillery of various entrepreneurial ventures running dry, business pundits stumbled upon a new lucrative idea, which hits right into the heart of a family's sentiment, MARRIAGE CONTRACTING !! Before I get into details, a peek into the logistics of Indian weddings show that on an average, nearly 1000 Indian couples are pushed into 'nuptial bliss' through a rigorous ceremony encompassing a minimum of 3 days. which means that apart from trying to outdo the aroma of the 'vethakuzhambu' (a tamil dish, whose very mention makes u drool) amongst neighbours, its a matter of prestige to get the best contractor for their kid's wedding by pestering their respective "ambi's" (a petname for the olden day husband) to run pillar to post in search of the best contractor.
Marriage contracting has achieved a new saga. These days, apart from burning a hole through your pocket, modern contractors ensure that every single matter is looked into, right from bribing the policemen to ensure smooth parking, to showing the boot to any ex-lover of the bride seeking vendetta against the groom. To ensure the highest quality of the 'panchakavyam*' whose main constituent is the cow's urine, specialised tasters would be brought in from the 'Morarji Desai Followers Assocition' . Heck they would even find the prefect apple or a banana tree, to ward off evil spirits or find the right donkey. But Im pretty sure there would be a disclaimer in fine print which holds no guarantee as you enter into conjugal bliss with rashes, or a kick in your groins which would ensure your tryst with holy matrimony begins on a very 'impo(r)tent' note.
Lets face it, I would rather watch grand old maamis, flashing a toothy grin at the would be's and throwing lethal**'saffron coated' rice balls while they sashay on the swings. Or the father of the bride plead with the groom not to take a trip to Kasi(yes, Tamil Brahmin weddings could get a bit dramatic !! ) than arbit unknown cooks whsipering about certain 'fishy' ingredients ala "Michael Madana Kama Rajan" or tipplers 'accidentally' mixing brandy into the grape juice, leaving all the old men and women a little tipsy.
For all the "marriages are made in heaven" bit, a little bit of effort ( a little more for the bride's father, who needs to maintain his composure as his daughter sits on his lap for a good 10 mins, while the groom ties a secure knot. Even if the bride's father has been overtly rude to him while courting her, the groom is requested not to take it out at him by being excruciatingly slow in doing so !! )can be taken by both families to add one's own personal touch and get a sense of satisfaction at the end of it !!
Some things should never change, and the ultimate reap of ur hardwork is seeing people contendly rub their tummy and show off their paan tainted teeth while you personally offer them a bag containing coconut, betel leaves and a small token of your appreciation to them for having come and showered their blessings on the couple.
* - The panchakavyam is a sacred offering mixed with fruits and the chief ingredient as mentioned above, and is supposed to have miraculous results in maintaining harmony amongst newlyweds, but with rising TRP's of the worst possible tamil serials, its effects have been subdued, due to heavy levels of mind- poisoning by these insipid shows.
**- don't let the wrinkled skin fool you, with years of practice, and razor sharp precision, these maamis can put to shame any international cricketer. Maybe the Indian cricket team can take a little bit of guidance from the "Elderly Maamis Association of India", who have spent half their lives blessing their near and dear ones in this fashion.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Saturday, December 29, 2007
The begining of the end.. Manoranjan(Horizons2k7)
The atmosphere was eclectic..the stage was set... It was the final showdown for one to prove their worth.. The Manoranjan of Horizons 2K7
A peek into the precursor of the final day revealed that after a power packed week of watching stomach patting adolf hitlers, eyecatching visuals (microkinis), audacious dance moves wherin one freely jut his groins in any angle possible under the name of lola cola dance, amateurs luck, virulent jealousy, and tempers running skyhigh, the general mass was panging for more.
The odds were heavily stacked in favour of the Prodies, who were the reigning champions. A close source had earlier revealed they were on their way to create a masala entertainer, for the masses, filled with a myriad of emotions, which would put to shame any yashraj venture.
Clinging close to their heels, were the Chem-meta bandwagon, whose merger had left many depts stunned with their over-the-top performance.
The silent killers were the EEE, who managed to warrant some big points in the eleventh hour,
The top 3, have emerged favourites amongst cut-throat competition, but it was anyone's battle..
some were vying for the top spot, some were vying to place in the top 3, and some just wanted to redeem lost pride
After a hiatus,due to technical glitches, amidst euphoric roars of the audience, the show began. The next 2 hours or so, must have left the judges in a fix to crown the best, with superlative performances coming in from every department, who had put in tremendous effort in making props and costumes.
Hats off to the Prodies, who came up with the most entertaining act, by portraying their theme of "Be who u are" in the form a musical filled with dance and oodles of masala. They left no stones unturned, and even small details like a DJ's CDs were looked into. Amazing props and costumes, and an absorbing storyline with catchy numbers !! They deserved to win hands down, and so they did !
The electrifying EEE executed to perfection a serious theme "Destruction of Nature" with an original background score and excellent synchronisation. They handled it with elan, and struck a right chord with their visuals. No elaborate costumes, no unnecessary distractions. cogent and original ! No surprise that they came second
The much hyped Chem-Meta performance, stood up to their expectations and possibly took their theme "Numbers" seriously. The sheer number of participants in their extravaganza ensured a cohesive performance. Dance being their major highlight, it was a unique display, with inexhaustive props and indigeneous costumes. They tied for second place wit EEE.
The underdogs, Archis, gave a hilarious offering, peppered with hindi songs from the past and a strong performance by their cast, it was 10 mins of non-stop fun, right from the word go ! Their theme hovered around the "Silence is golden", with the silent one finally coming up trumps. Their execution was flawless, and so very natural, that it was a class apart. Iam sure they missed out being in the top 3 by a small margin.
A surprise was in store by the Compscis, who gave a sensitized performance on apartheid. Their theme "Black or White" was manifested by inter-weaving a story around limber movements. A neat narration, backed by a soundtrack that blended with the mood led to an aesthetic creation whose tempo never dropped.Their USP was its ability to absorb the viewers and empathise with their characters.
The rest of the depts, gave the top five a run for their money, especially the Civil-lians who came up with an innovative idea, that could have laid the 'foundation' for a victory, but they lost focus somewhere in the middle, and couldnt revive.ECE,ICE and Mech put up a good performance, but unfortunately failed to impress the judges, nevertheless, they deserve a standing ovation simply for the effort which they took.
On the whole, It was a welcome break from the monotonity of college life, and It was an opportunity for many to try their hands at various competitions..
A peek into the precursor of the final day revealed that after a power packed week of watching stomach patting adolf hitlers, eyecatching visuals (microkinis), audacious dance moves wherin one freely jut his groins in any angle possible under the name of lola cola dance, amateurs luck, virulent jealousy, and tempers running skyhigh, the general mass was panging for more.
The odds were heavily stacked in favour of the Prodies, who were the reigning champions. A close source had earlier revealed they were on their way to create a masala entertainer, for the masses, filled with a myriad of emotions, which would put to shame any yashraj venture.
Clinging close to their heels, were the Chem-meta bandwagon, whose merger had left many depts stunned with their over-the-top performance.
The silent killers were the EEE, who managed to warrant some big points in the eleventh hour,
The top 3, have emerged favourites amongst cut-throat competition, but it was anyone's battle..
some were vying for the top spot, some were vying to place in the top 3, and some just wanted to redeem lost pride
After a hiatus,due to technical glitches, amidst euphoric roars of the audience, the show began. The next 2 hours or so, must have left the judges in a fix to crown the best, with superlative performances coming in from every department, who had put in tremendous effort in making props and costumes.
Hats off to the Prodies, who came up with the most entertaining act, by portraying their theme of "Be who u are" in the form a musical filled with dance and oodles of masala. They left no stones unturned, and even small details like a DJ's CDs were looked into. Amazing props and costumes, and an absorbing storyline with catchy numbers !! They deserved to win hands down, and so they did !
The electrifying EEE executed to perfection a serious theme "Destruction of Nature" with an original background score and excellent synchronisation. They handled it with elan, and struck a right chord with their visuals. No elaborate costumes, no unnecessary distractions. cogent and original ! No surprise that they came second
The much hyped Chem-Meta performance, stood up to their expectations and possibly took their theme "Numbers" seriously. The sheer number of participants in their extravaganza ensured a cohesive performance. Dance being their major highlight, it was a unique display, with inexhaustive props and indigeneous costumes. They tied for second place wit EEE.
The underdogs, Archis, gave a hilarious offering, peppered with hindi songs from the past and a strong performance by their cast, it was 10 mins of non-stop fun, right from the word go ! Their theme hovered around the "Silence is golden", with the silent one finally coming up trumps. Their execution was flawless, and so very natural, that it was a class apart. Iam sure they missed out being in the top 3 by a small margin.
A surprise was in store by the Compscis, who gave a sensitized performance on apartheid. Their theme "Black or White" was manifested by inter-weaving a story around limber movements. A neat narration, backed by a soundtrack that blended with the mood led to an aesthetic creation whose tempo never dropped.Their USP was its ability to absorb the viewers and empathise with their characters.
The rest of the depts, gave the top five a run for their money, especially the Civil-lians who came up with an innovative idea, that could have laid the 'foundation' for a victory, but they lost focus somewhere in the middle, and couldnt revive.ECE,ICE and Mech put up a good performance, but unfortunately failed to impress the judges, nevertheless, they deserve a standing ovation simply for the effort which they took.
On the whole, It was a welcome break from the monotonity of college life, and It was an opportunity for many to try their hands at various competitions..
The girl who was...
To maintain the general temperament of the blog, I decided to include a piece of mine which would leave most poets turning in their graves. But what the heck.. so here goes it goes...
The look on my face says it all
yet again a girl has made my heart stall
as i walked in air
i cudnt help but stare
the cycle begins yet again
not realising the end pain.
i laughed away the past
overpassing the time i ended up in a cast
Then......she turned, and i caught her eye
suddenly she flashed a smile.
The temperature inside soared sky high
and next i knew, i was kissing the stile
I made a dash towards her
and blew a kiss on the spur
a heavy hand came upon me and made birds twitter in my head
regaining conciousness, I found myself in bed
grinning, my friend explained,
that only recently her boyfriend had maimed
the local dada for having made a pass
for commenting something crass
just as i sat cursing my fate
the nurse walked in pushing the medicine crate
"wow", i exclaimed and began feigning pain
my friend slapped his forehead and sighed, 'Not again'
The look on my face says it all
yet again a girl has made my heart stall
as i walked in air
i cudnt help but stare
the cycle begins yet again
not realising the end pain.
i laughed away the past
overpassing the time i ended up in a cast
Then......she turned, and i caught her eye
suddenly she flashed a smile.
The temperature inside soared sky high
and next i knew, i was kissing the stile
I made a dash towards her
and blew a kiss on the spur
a heavy hand came upon me and made birds twitter in my head
regaining conciousness, I found myself in bed
grinning, my friend explained,
that only recently her boyfriend had maimed
the local dada for having made a pass
for commenting something crass
just as i sat cursing my fate
the nurse walked in pushing the medicine crate
"wow", i exclaimed and began feigning pain
my friend slapped his forehead and sighed, 'Not again'
Pavlovs Experiment
This is something extremely interesting which I came about a few days ago..
A great thinker and physiologist, Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, A Russian by birth, conducted an experiment to check the salivating reflex of a dog.
Everyday, he placed a bowl of meat outside the doorstep, rang the bell and opened the door, and the dog was greeted by the aroma of the chow, and so began drooling. He routinely followed the same pattern for over a month, and kept checking the levels to which the dog used to drool. Slowly he stopped placing the meat, and just rang the bell. Much to his surprise, the dog used to salivate to the same extent even a month after not being given any food. So this proved the dog responded not to the aroma, but to familiarity. It registered a cognizant thought that once the bell rings, there will be food.
Obviously this reduced in intensity as the dog realised it was a ruse, and no food would be available once the bell rang.
The same experiment was conducted in various ways to test a man's reaction to certain stimuli, and he responded similarly.
Pavlov's discovery was sensational and proved that man's senses which had no relation to a particular reflex, through experience can be tuned to certain stimuli and trigger reflexes. It became extremely important, as it helped in more objective methods of studying human behaviour.
Nowadays, this is used to treat the dreaded Alzheimeirs disease, amd certain phobias caused due to the surroundings, like claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces) and altophobia (fear of heights) through a process called systematic desensitization
Interesting ? Thought provoking ? Boring ? Please comment..
"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. " - H. P. Lovecraft
A great thinker and physiologist, Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, A Russian by birth, conducted an experiment to check the salivating reflex of a dog.
Everyday, he placed a bowl of meat outside the doorstep, rang the bell and opened the door, and the dog was greeted by the aroma of the chow, and so began drooling. He routinely followed the same pattern for over a month, and kept checking the levels to which the dog used to drool. Slowly he stopped placing the meat, and just rang the bell. Much to his surprise, the dog used to salivate to the same extent even a month after not being given any food. So this proved the dog responded not to the aroma, but to familiarity. It registered a cognizant thought that once the bell rings, there will be food.Obviously this reduced in intensity as the dog realised it was a ruse, and no food would be available once the bell rang.
The same experiment was conducted in various ways to test a man's reaction to certain stimuli, and he responded similarly.
Pavlov's discovery was sensational and proved that man's senses which had no relation to a particular reflex, through experience can be tuned to certain stimuli and trigger reflexes. It became extremely important, as it helped in more objective methods of studying human behaviour.
Nowadays, this is used to treat the dreaded Alzheimeirs disease, amd certain phobias caused due to the surroundings, like claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces) and altophobia (fear of heights) through a process called systematic desensitization
Interesting ? Thought provoking ? Boring ? Please comment..
"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. " - H. P. Lovecraft
A little about me
Im Karthik Ganapathi,
A dreamer, who attends sleep-a-thons during class hours
A visionary, who knows that one day milk prices are going to come crashing down in trichy due to increasing bovine population in my campus.
A thinker. who wastes time wondering about the most useless things in life.
Since this is my dedicated space, modesty is definitely not going to be the other of the day !
welcome to my realm !
Please do spend some time, going through what i have written, and do comment on what I have mused upon.
Im pursuing my Btech in NIT Trichy, and completed my schooling from PSBB , Nungambakkam in Chennai, India.I may have learnt a lot of stuff, can't decipher if its useful or not, As of now, I need to unlearn a lot of things.. Thats my short term goal
Long term.. A venture capitalist..
Aid those fuelled with a deep sense of passion to succeed, and cash in on the most ridiculous ventures ever..
"Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a Mystery, Today is a gift... Thats why its called the Present"
A dreamer, who attends sleep-a-thons during class hours
A visionary, who knows that one day milk prices are going to come crashing down in trichy due to increasing bovine population in my campus.
A thinker. who wastes time wondering about the most useless things in life.
Since this is my dedicated space, modesty is definitely not going to be the other of the day !
welcome to my realm !
Please do spend some time, going through what i have written, and do comment on what I have mused upon.
Im pursuing my Btech in NIT Trichy, and completed my schooling from PSBB , Nungambakkam in Chennai, India.I may have learnt a lot of stuff, can't decipher if its useful or not, As of now, I need to unlearn a lot of things.. Thats my short term goal
Long term.. A venture capitalist..
Aid those fuelled with a deep sense of passion to succeed, and cash in on the most ridiculous ventures ever..
"Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a Mystery, Today is a gift... Thats why its called the Present"
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