The Dazzling Damsel - Azhagu Azhage

This song has been written as an ode to describe the captivating beauty of a women. The same can also be depicted for the song in question as it's in every way as breathtaking as a beautiful damsel. The curvy overtures, the subtle nuances, the alternate notations add such a dignified stance that makes you go all awww and admire the piece in it's full splendor. 

This song is difficult to describe with respect to the raga pattern it follows but it utilizes both the gandharams and dhaivatams in such an elevated manner leaving you go all awestruck. The gentle manner in which the song meanders along makes it feel serene and gives such a soothing effect. Though Andhi Mazhai is the torch bearer song of this movie, there is a certain refined elegance to this one that is sure to make you fall in love with it. 

I just attempted a bit of the veena piece that originates in the middle of the interlude giving way to the Charanam and then back to the Pallavi of Azhage Azhagu Devathai. I hope my minimal strive was able to capture a glimpse of the magic that this composition is gloriously dipped all over with.

Thendral Vandhu - Poetry in Motion!

If you have to describe a composition that depicts imagery at it's very best, it's pretty hard to fathom beyond this one. All sorts of emotions get entangled and it meanders along in such an enigmatic manner that highlights poetry in motion. 

Even from the composer's rich oeuvre spanning across plethora of genres, it's really hard to pigeonhole this number into one particular category. The orchestral prepositions, the variations in the arrangement, layer by layer construction of the melody et al all leave you dazzled with monotones of intensity and eerieness. 

I attempted a little portion of this gargantuan composition beginning from the Charanam portion "எவரும் சொல்லாமலே பூக்களும் வாசம் வீசுது" and lurked on back to the Pallavi of தென்றல் வந்து தீண்டும் போது. I thoroughly enjoyed attempting those snippety nippy gamakas that add such a varied colour to the composition. 

There is no question of doing justice to the original. At best this is just a humble attempt at a particular segment of this mind blowing composition. Being technologically in adept, couldn't really do much to control the burring sound of the mike. Anyhow it's just the joy of being enmeshed by the beauty of the composition at the end of the day 😃.

Black Orchid - The Bustling Black Beauty!

Black, beauty and buzz are perhaps the 3 keywords adorning this place. The color black infuses royalty and a svelte like class about it that exhibits beauty in all it's aura and the buzz it creates is a sparkling spectacle. Black Orchid is a fine dining cum resto-bar restaurant located in a sprawling constructed property in R A Puram.

The place is abuzz with flashy decor, blooming lights and crafty woodwork. It's a three tiered massive structure with the basement allocated as a party hall, the ground portion consisting of a fine styling restaurant cum bar and the upper stair case portion leads you to a permit room where you can eat and drink to your heart's content with easing lounge style music.

We were here on a weekday evening and the place instantly spiraled it's atmosphere as set foot inside. It is more of a casual dining outlet but they have brought in some interesting features to differentiate itself from the crowd. It brings Japanese cuisine such as Sushis and Tepanayaki which gives itself a unique signature and apart from that you also have portions comprising of North Indian cuisine, a bit of continental and also Italian.

The appetizers form a major part of the menu and overall the food was very well curated and we had a ball of a time. We began our foray with a mixed veggies Tepanyaki. This one was grilled well with a variety of veggies giving us a crunchy beginning to our proceedings. The grilled panneer with peppers served in the form of skewers were amazingly flavorful and went very well with a barbecue sauce which had a mild sweet tinge to it. The lotus stem starter was perhaps the best of the lot as it had everything going for it on the taste angle and it was jocularly good to polish them with the creamy mayo and soya accompaniment that came along with it. The cassawa rolls which resemble sweet potatoes also was very good with the chilli dip enhancing the flavors all the more. We also had to try a sushi considering it's their specialty and hence we attempted the Greenland Maki one. It was dressed up royally in yellow consisting of veggies interspersed inset.

On to the main course, the corn and pepper bake was excellent. It was extremely cheesy and coated up with a smoked baked dressing. It was overflowing with goodness and ended up being such a toothsome delight. The vegetables in curry with saffron pilaf also turned out to be a sure shot winner. The curry made in coconut cream was esculent and the saffron flavored rice complemented it really well. Apart from this we also tried a bit of Indian with Tawa Paratha and Panneer Mutter Masala. The gravy was rich and creamy and it was nice to consume with the Indian breads.

The dessert section saw us having a crack at the Black Orchid cheesecake. It came with a fleck of gold foil and was very mushy and mellow consisting of a dense chocolate taste. It felt more like a rich mousse cake as cheesecake is normally associated with a biscuity crumb holding it which was missing in this case. The chocolate in a jar rum was also had and this concoction worked really well with the taste of rum being evident in each spoonful and the combo of rum & chocolate did indeed prove to be magical. Another thing to note here is they have some really unique but limited ice cream choices. We went for the lemon grass and enjoyed every smack of it. The slithery hint of lemon grass was felt in every bite.

The service was fast paced and we got all our items in quick intervals of time. The staff were also friendly and provided some valuable suggestions helping us order the right stuff. The prices seem up market but competitive considering they are setting the bar high.

All in all, Black Orchid happens to be a fascinating new addition to both the restaurant as well as the pub scene. The ambiance is serene and the atmosphere is electrifying. There is a lot you can indulge here apart from taking a bunch of happy memories. Can easily be classified as a fantastic option for food & drink.

Being Beautiful, Winning Beauty Contests and the connection with Aishwarya Rai!

There was a discussion about what makes one to be bestowed with beautiful looks and also on top of that make you win international pageant contests such as Miss World etc which are conducted on a global platform. Looking at it from an astrological POV, obviously the birth chart should have some correlation to suggest someone is breathtakingly beautiful but in addendum to that transits also matter a lot and perhaps even the running dasa period to put that beauty into optimum use and at the right time to win international honours.

The best bet native to study about this is perhaps renowned beauty queen Aishwarya Rai who not only possesses ethereal looks but also managed to win India a Miss World title after a really long period of time. Let's take her case since it's believed that her birth details are kind of accurate.
Birth details are as below:
DOB : 1st Nov 1973
POB : Mangalore, India
TOB : 4:05 AM
Ayanamsa : Raman 22-02-43.86

She is Virgo Ascendant, Poorva Ashada Nakshatra (Pooradam in Tamil) and her 4th house attains dignity with Venus, Moon and Rahu all placed in the fiery dual sign of Jupiter owned Sagittarius. These three planets individually are said to confer exceptional elegance and imagine all three of them sitting together makes her a timeless beauty. One must also notice Venus and Moon sitting in the 4th attains Dig Bal (Power). Her Lagna Lord Mercury is strong and retrograde in 3rd house and we do know she possesses exceptional communication skills.

Now let's come to the actual time when she won the event which took place in Sun City, South Africa on Nov 19th 1994. She had just finished her 21st year and stepping into her 22nd year. Looking at her solar chart 1st Nov 1994 (exact degree of Sun as at birth), you will find that she is Capricorn Ascendant with Mercury/Moon in 9th and Jupiter, Sun, Venus and Rahu combined in 10th house of Libra. And on the date of winning (19th Nov 1994) you'll still find Venus/Rahu together along with her natal Lagna lord Mercury and Sun has moved out of debilitation and closely associated with Jupiter alongside Moon being exalted in Taurus giving rise to an auspicious pournami yoga with the magical rays of Jupiter also overseeing proceedings.

Look at the glorious interplay of God. At birth Rahu/Venus conjunct, 22nd year solar chart also they are conjunct and on the day she won the title also it was conjunct. Moon which talks about the mental make up also attains impression in all these cases and on top of it the Sun was shining brightly coming out of debilitation at the time of her creating history. Her original Lagna Lord Mercury also is super powerful.

The icing on the cake was that the title was won when Moon Maha Dasa (planet in 4th house attaining dig bal in natal chart) and Mercury Antar Dasa (Lagna lord) was running for her. You could even go one step further and say the event happened in her Mars Pratyantar Dasa (8th lord in 8th house giving sudden overnight fame). Hence basically the 3 Magical M's (Moon/Mercury/Mars) working in unity to create world wide success.

Thus, in effect the universe did all it's tricks to make this event transpire. This is just from rasi chart without even going in to the divisional charts.

To cut the long story short, moral of the tale is you need to have the following planets strong for being beautiful and winning beauty contests.
Moon : Mind (Mental framework)
Sun : Grace (Royal radiance as it's a world event)
Venus : Beauty (The primary core for an event of this magnitude)
Rahu : Expansion (To expound the prevailing factors and give overnight success)
Lagna Lord (Mercury in this case) : Desire (The soul which is running towards it's desired path)