This blog is centred on topics pertaining to Food, Astrology, Music, Sport, Stock Market Index and random ramblings.
I love exploring culinary food trails and like to give my unique perspective on diverse epicurean adventures. I am fascinated with the way universe works and hence inclination towards astrology. I adore good old school classical film music from bygone era. As for sports, I have a huge fetish for numbers and hooked on to it. And I enjoy tracking moves made by market indexes.
When the movie Kadhalukku Mariyadhai hit the silver screens almost 3 decades back, it came as a refreshing change and was lapped up big time by the on goers. It set the box office on fire registering zinging collections well in excess of 30x of the value of investment.
The movie starred current Chief Minister of the state Vijay and his pair was the elegant Shalini who had made the shift from a child artist by playing her first major role as a senior artist. Vijay's image as a soft chocolate boy lover elevated his charm and managed to win hearts not just with his lady love in the film but also the audience in general who saw him as an upcoming love hero having given a string of hits in the romantic genre.
The songs carved out for this movie were magnificent with one number especially being the stand out in the form of Ennai Thaalatta Varuvalo. It's a song composed using the Madhyamam 'Ma' as the base note and gives such a soft soulful love feel even when listened to it today.
Attempted a small portion of this vintage lilting composition beginning from the Charanam and traversing back to the Pallavi. The melting lyrics were written by Palani Bharathi and rendered by the duo of Hariharan & Bhavadharini with music set to tune by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja. The movie title translates as 'Respect for Love' and this song truly pays homage to it in every little way.
AR Rahman has this uncanny ability of coming up with gems from time to time. Many a time, it might be just a minor bit portion from out of the blue but he times it so well that it resoundingly goes out of the park.
This particular composition Kanne Kalaimane or Deewana Deewana has a small verse sung by Isai Puyal himself whose strains are so addictive that I couldn't but resist trying it out.
It is basically a swara portion sung as a sargam which comes interlaced within the interlude that adds a pristine touch to the composition. The alternative use of the Dhaivatams leading to a 3 phrase chromatics is truly the signature special of this tune.
The way it flows and branches to the main melody is simply sublime. It feels so tailormade and created exclusively for ARR to sing this composition and he has done full justice to this scorcher of a song. The man continues to conjure class since time immemorial.
When it comes to lovey dovey mushy romance of the 90's, it's hard to look further beyond the evergreen classic 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'. There are certain stories which live with time and one such is DDLJ. It will forever be etched as an eternal cult classic. Ever since it's foray in the silver screens, its had an everlasting impact in the hearts of love struck romeos and remembered as a much fancied movie to savour amongst both Desi and NRI audiences.
This date 20th October 2025 marks 30 years since the iconic release of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge that hit tinselville during the Diwali week on the 20th October 1995. It was a marquee blockbuster that took the box office by thunderstorm. Incidentally at the time of release of DDLJ, the protagonist SRK was just few days shy of celebrating his 30th B'day and now 30 years hence he is on the threshold of coveting the milestone figure of 60 years.
Directed by a then 24 year old in Aditya Chopra, DDLJ in essence was just a simple tailor made love story but in it's innocence lied the attraction which strung the fans into believing and falling in love with the movie. It was those fleeting unimpeachable moments that uplifted the film to all time greatness. Shahrukh's charm as a young chocolate lover boy 'Raj' was lapped up heavily by the youth of the nation. Kajol's character as the dreamy 'Simran' was easily identifiable by young maidens growing up in a patriarchal society back in the days. Their sizzling chemistry together provided the perfect synchronicity to elevate the sequences one after the other.
There is an impish charm about DDLJ that has managed to sway audiences and believe in the adage of falling in Love. In the previous Diwali summer of 1994, it was the family saga Hum Aapke Hain Koun! starring Salman Khan & Madhuri Dixit that had the cash registers ringing big time turning into an epoch making superlative smasher of a hit. In 1995, it was the NRI Love bug in the form of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge catapulting it to being the biggest phenomenon of the year. It also happens to be India's longest running film ever with the matinee show in Maratha Mandir at Mumbai as mind blowing as it may sound still continuing playing it to this very day right since inception.
It ignited a ray of hope of true love existing and manifesting beyond boundaries. In fact the whole fantasy of experiencing a Euro Trip got implanted for many via the picturesque scenes, settings and surroundings emitted through the canvas of DDLJ. That unforgettable dialogue of "Bade bade deshon mein aisi choti choti baatein hoti rehti hai" translated as "In Big big countries, such small small conversations keeps happening" holds universal significance to this very day. At the very climax, when an unbending father finally relents chanting "Jaa Simran jaa jeele apni zindagi jaa beta jaa that means "Go Simran go live your life, go my daughter go", it truly signalled the victory of Love over everything else.
When it came to the music of this movie, it is remembered for containing irresistible melodies that have stood the test of time. It was tuned by the brotherly duo of Jatin-Lalit and was one of the most sought after soundtracks of the year 1995. However the movie lost out on the popular choice of Best Musical Album with the AR Rahman composed "Rangeela" bagging the honours for the soundtrack of the year at the Filmfare Awards mildly pipping DDLJ.
There have been many movies celebrating Love themes but DDLJ takes the cake for inheriting such a universal appeal. As a tribute to this golden movie crossing the landmark of 30 years, sharing an infinitesimal rendition of a few lines of all the 6 memorable numbers from this iconic feature film. May the legend of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge aka DDLJ continue to enthral and relive memories.
Some compositions are just tailor made and feels like it's been composed exclusively for SPB to do full justice. And boy oh boy does he do a wondrous job of it by elevating the number a further notch through his energetic rendering. The song in question is Kadhal Kavidhaigal from the movie Gopura Vaasalile.
It's a love byte set to tune in Malayamalava Gowla ragam. The prelude begins with the lady conveying her excitement towards her lover through the words "I love this lovable idiot" and then gets taken over by a gush of violins galloping in a gorgeous gusto followed by the chiming in of the wind flute to add some chirpiness.
And when SPB begins singing Kadhal Kavithaigal Padithidum it's a chilling feeling with love abounding in breathtaking fashion. There is an extra zep in his soulful rendition that brings out the love pep brimming in full finesse. Chitra complements SPB beautifully but the out and out show-stealer of this riveting composition is the man with the golden vintage voice.
This song also touches upon the 'Thala' in a lovely manner. Normally when a melody starts with the beat, it's termed as 'Samam' but when it starts at a different point from the beat it's known as 'Vishamam'. When melody starts first followed by the beat it's called 'Athitha Eduppu' whereas if the melody starts after the beat it's known as 'Anaagatha Eduppu'. This song employs Athitha Eduppu by having the melody line starting ahead of the beat.
I attempted a small take on the veena beginning from the Charanam and then connecting it back to the Pallavi where SPB is in his true elements decisively lighting up and lilting the number to glory beyond uncharted territory. This is an evergreen love song for the ages that always leaves a smile on your face. Sharing this sizzling song as an ode to SPB as a remembrance on his birth month anniversary and on the occasion of World Music Day.
I always have a sugary soft corner especially with regard to ARR's early day compositions. Growing up, it was almost a ritual to get absorbed in his music in some way or other. He had taken the city of Madras by storm with his sound coming across as not only new age but also endearingly refreshing.
The melody content was sweet and he was always certain of hitting the right chords thereby finding a way into many a youth's heart. The 90s style of music from the junction box of ARR especially the melodic numbers had a honey coated tenderness to it that usually got one flayed and caught up sucking the nectar.
'Malargale Malargale' is a vintage melody that has always been attractive and establishes itself as a charming composition. The charanam portion especially with the subtle gamakas, zigzag phrases and jumpy notes transgressing across octaves adds such a vibrant touch. The lyrics indicate the flowers telling a dream and the music supports it by painting a swirling canvas encapsulated with varied emotional hues.
Just attempted a little portion of the number beginning with my favorite Charanam portion and clawing back thereby to the Pallavi and also mildly straddling along to this hard hitting western bit that gives another contrasting complexion.
Today marks 28 years of the entry of the man who captured the generation of the 90s with his swayful music making his debut with Roja which hit silver screens on this very day on the 15th of August 1992. May the music continue to meritoriously mesmerize.
Cougar relationships have always been viewed with closed lens and more so when an Indian is involved, it always tends to attract the paparazzi. The recent involvement of Bollywood heartthrob Priyanka Chopra with a person more than 10 years her junior was certainly the cynosure of all eyes and got the media into a frenzied overdrive trying to analyse the reasons for her relationship with the happening Nick Jonas, a person of another origin/country and who happens to be a whole decade younger in age.
I was quite curious to rack up her horoscope to see what prompted such a relationship. Thankfully her birth details seem to be quite authentic and seems to tally with some of her traits. Sharing her birth details as per below;
DOB : 18th July 1982
POB : Jamshedpur, India
TOB : 1:30 AM
Ayanamsa : Raman 22-10-01.76
Now let's take a brief peekaboo into Priyanka Chopra's horoscope. First up, her 7th lord is sitting in 5th which clearly indicates a high probability of love marriage. Not only that, you see Venus and Rahu sitting together which accentuates it further and even more so because Venus is in dual sign of Gemini. The trigger of Rahu always tends to create something mysterious and when conjoined with Venus in a dual placement, it's almost as if its been given the freedom to play around. Also if you'd observe Jupiter in the natal chart aspects both Venus & Rahu and incidentally the period from Dec'17 to May'18, Jupiter Maha Dasa/Venus Antar Dasa/Rahu Pratyantar Dasa was only running. It looks very clear that around this period only her love would have blossomed and really come to light. It's quite funny how Vedic astrology seems to show it quite visibly in her horo chart as well :D.
Next up, looking at the dignity of her 7th (spouse). Her 7th lord is conjoined with Saturn. They are also pretty close to each other - Mars and Saturn. So Saturn has the power of giving marriage and not only that he is Yogakarak for both Taurus Lagna and Moon. Now the telling point is check Saturn's 10th aspect on Mercury. It falls exactly where Mercury is located. Both of them are exactly to the dot 24 degrees in their respective signs of Gemini and Virgo. Mercury as a planet has the significance of being a friend and can indicate a younger partner and it emphasizes the fact resolutely in her case. Saturn does also aspect Venus and Rahu but the one on Mercury is the talking point here. Saturn is also 8th from it's Mool Trikona sign giving sudden rise in the form of a strange love (younger partner and also of foreign origin)
Coming to her characteristics in general, Ascendant and Moon together in Taurus gives her a very good personality. Her 3rd lord Moon is placed in the 1st giving her excellent communication skills and making her a very confident person. 2nd is about wealth and you see not only natural 2nd house owner Venus sitting there but also Lord of 2nd and 5th Mercury sitting in it's own sign of Gemini. The house of motherland viz 4th house Sun is afflicted sitting 12 places from itself indicating that she regularly travels and frequently leaves her hometown to foreign destinations. Rahu/Ketu in 2/8 axis isn't great but here also Rahu and Ketu both sit in their respective mool trikona sign of Gemini and Sagittarius respectively. The top rated malefic for Taurus Lagna viz Jupiter is actually weak sitting in 6th place and hence will not be very harmful. Lot of planets attain power in her horoscope and it isn't a phenomenon to see her extremely successful and being the most followed Indian on Instagram.
One more thing to note is about her work and career. You find her 10th lord sitting in the 5th indicating indirectly that work will be somewhat related with creativity and intelligence. You also see Saturn sitting in the 9th Dasamsa (24 to 27 degrees) of even sign Virgo in the South East direction represented by Agni and ruled by Venus. This direction is controlled by Agni Deva and ruled by Venus who is the head of all creative works such as acting, singing, dancing etc. And another wonderful coincidence is that the planet Venus is himself sitting in the odd sign of Gemini in 2nd Dasamsa (3 to 6 degrees) which is also in the South East direction and ruled again by Venus himself. Hence Shukra Guru is playing a yeomen role in elevating her pedestal and indicating that she is in the right kind of profession. Saturn also happens to be the 10th lord in the Dasamsa D10 chart sitting in its own movable sign of Capricorn with Rahu showing a job involved with plenty of travelling.
Focusing the energy on the main topic which is of her relationship and marriage, she is likely to get married in Dec'18. It's magical to see how all the planets are harnessing the spherical energies to show this event in her chart.
Dasa check - current one running is Jupiter MD - Venus AD - Saturn PD from Sep'18 to Feb'19. Jupiter is the most natural benefic and Venus the signifier of an event like marriage and Venus happens to be in trikona to Jupiter. Also Saturn the yogakarak is closely conjunct with her actual 7th lord Mars.
Transit check - Jupiter is now exactly 7th to both her natal Lagna as well as Natal Moon again pointing out imminently that an event of a magnitude such as marriage may take place.
Wishing PC all the very best. She has well and truly been a role model and a great ambassador representing India with a lot of dignity and grace in foreign shores.
Mothers are the most 'taken for granted' souls ever. They slog like crazy for the well being of children with absolutely no expectations whatsoever. A mother's love is the most purest in the world. One can never love their mother more than the way she will love you as there is some divine element which is so deep rooted and simply unmatchable. We are worth nothing if not for our mother.
It's been 2 and a half decades since this pristine composition celebrating motherhood saw the daylights and nobody better to depict it than Superstar and put to tune by Maestro who showcases the divinity through Kalyani raga infusing the sound of temple bells and employing heartfelt strings. Congrats to Dasettan for receiving the coveted Padma Vibhushan and his repertoire is in full play portraying the finer emotions so resplendently in this ever soulful rendition.
