Impact of Ilaiyaraaja on the small screen

There have been a slew of musical based programmes which have gained immense popularity of late. Shows such as Airtel Super Singer, Hariyudan Naan, Ragamalika, Sangeetha Maha Yudham, Poorvika Little Superstars etc. In all these shows there is one common factor. One man's songs reigns supreme, one man's songs seems to dominate and that one Man is Maestro Ilaiyaraaja.

In fact I was just seeing an episode of Super Singer where they had recalled 5 eliminated girls who were given a final chance to show their prowess so that one of them can make it to the top 20 and all of them chose Ilaiyaraaja's songs. As every girl was getting ready to sing i thought its gonna be a song from another MD and every time i was happy to be proved wrong.Its but a known fact that IR'S songs are no joke and really help elevate your calibre (ie. if you are a good singer:)). Also in Non Singing rounds I think it would be good to show interesting facts about the contestants likes and tastes in music and the reason for picking a song rather than showing them wear make up and pose for the cameras. This is totally uncalled for in my humble opinion.:)

In Hariyudan Naan also songs of IR always seem to be donning the rounds but the sad part is the main judge Hariharan seems to have least knowledge about IR'S songs.It is kind of baffling that he seems to be unaware of such gems of Raja's. Also they had a round called Golden 80's where 95% of the songs were Raaja's, the sad part is there were so many late 70's songs also picked up from movies such as 16 Vayathinile (1977), Priya(1978), Sigappu Rojakkal (1978) etc. If you are going to name it as 80's rounds isn't it fair to just stick to that? What is the problem in naming the show Golden Hits of Ilaiyaraaja as compared to Golden Hits of 80's? Is it a crime to give credit to the composer? Unless the judges mention there's no mention at all about the composer which is sad :(.It also gives wrong info to the viewers that these songs were from the 80's when in fact they aren't.

In many websites and places ive seen IR wrongly credited for movies such as Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu, Apoorva Raagangal, Ninaithale Inikkum. They are such popular movies and its really unfair for both MSV and IR. People get info from so called trusted places and they also argue and vouch for it.I really have an issue with that. Its okay if its an unknown movie but definitely not for a film which is a popular one.

Ragamalika generally seems to be picking a hit music director/director combo or music director/actor combo and asking contestants to sing songs from the combo picked.For instance Ilaiyaraja/Bharathi Raja,Ilaiyaraja/Kamal Hassan etc.This is the only show where the viewers at least get to know the composer of the song.

My main concern is why can't they display a small synopsis about the song such as the Name of the song,Film,Year,Music Director,Singers,Raga etc.It'll be educative value for those seeing the show and also if the song is great a small say about the intricacies of the song.This is where i appreciate the great SPB. Seldom has he refrained from not talking about a song and he also gives interesting background incidents.It was through him that we came to know how difficult the guitarist found it to play Ilaya Nila and the fact that it required 16 takes. All these information really gets you very participative and you look forward to the show. My other concern is Why do the singers always choose popular songs??.There are so many hidden treasures and i was thinking this could be a great platform to unleash the brilliance of so many unheard songs of Maestro but alas they refuse to budge.

It is really nice to see so many musical shows on the small screen.But to sustain interest i believe there should be a re-vamp in the structure in certain areas in order to continue having an impact. The sooner its done, the better.

'Nothing but Wind'='Nothing but Hypnotism'-A Truly Memorable Musical Evening!!

I went to the concert "Nothing But Wind" and expected it to be a good show but never thought it'll strike such a chord within me.Now that I've attended the show i truly feel blessed, blissed, hypnotised and mesmerised by the man they call Ilaiyaraja and his music.No words can describe the sheer class and mastery of this man.

When i heard about such a show,i badly wanted to go and also asked another enthusiastic musical friend of mine and when i got the nod, I dare didn't want to miss the chance.But alas,it wasn't all rosy.I went to Landmark and got the bad news that the tickets were sold out.Then came to know that an online option was available.Though I was a bit apprehensive, I didnt want to miss this golden opportunity and was willing to take any risk,come what may. My efforts paid off and I got the tickets in the nick of time. I feel happy that my perseverance helped me in being part of a privileged lot.

Another spoiler was the heavily crowded TTK Road which made our journey longer than ever was,but however we just about huffed and puffed to reach Music Academy in time for the show.

Then, the moment of truth arrived.The man or rather 'God' walked gently up the stairs in his serene white pure avatar to the stage and deservingly got a raptourous applause from his ever loving fans.It was the first time i was seeing him and was palpably excited.Felt like seeing music in its physical humane form.

The show began with the divine Janani Janani sung by Bhavatharini.The song may be divine,but the performance was anything but that.There were some blatant errors in the interludes , the sound was jarring and the shruti went out of place a couple of times.It was somewhat made up towards the end.

After that,it was a total roller coaster ride.The pieces from Nothing But Wind were showcased and it was just simply put 'mind blowing',courtesy the articulate Navin Iyer and the 30 Piece Orchestra headed by Mr Prabhakar comprising of Violin,Viola and Cello,not to forget voice add-ons by Haricharan. Navin Iyer on the flute was masterclass. The Ustad showed how aesthetic and symphonic the sound of the flute can be and truly displayed his wizardry in what can be called a performance of a lifetime.To recreate the magic of Hari Prasad Chaurasia is no joke and he did it so effortlessly. He shook me,tilted me,knocked the stuffings out of me and completely bowled me over.

It was so enticing,enchanting,enthralling and enriching to hear the compositions of Nothing But Wind.Kudos to the entire orchestra Team for reviving the magic of the maestros compositions in such a spectacular fashion.

Then was the felicitation ceremony where Uttam Singh spoke highly about Ilayaraja being the only complete music director. Kaviarasar Valli too had praises for the great man.Also got to hear new trivia's like how Valaiyosai was initially composed for NBW but then Kamal Hassan used it in his movie Sathya after hearing the splendid song and also how the compositions were composed in a mere half an hour.(arre wah!). The Anchor Rohini was good but was clearly outshadowed by Bosky who kept the audience in splits with his naughty one liners.

After the felicitation were performances from Ilaiyaraja's film songs mostly from Mani Ratnam Movies.Songs from Anjali,Mouna Ragam,Agni Natchathiram,Thalapathy,Tik Tik Tik etc made us sing[We went gaga over Idhu Oru Nila Kalam esp.that Nathruthana Interlude portion :)],cry,revel and revive old memories [My friends 1st ever movie was Anjali and i guess mine too :) and yeah it was emotional]. The final song of the evening was the chart busting Ennamma Kanna from Mr.Bharath.It was sad but like all good things,this show too had to be wound up,much to our displeasure.

Hearty Congratulations to Bhavatharini for conceptualising such an idea to revive the glorious compositions of Nothing But Wind. As the audience chanted many a time "When is How to Name It??",hope that too turns out to be a reality very soon.

You do not need to be a connoisseur to understand good music,you just need to hear Ilaiyaraja's music.It was indeed a once in a lifetime surreal experience.Can never forget the spellbinding musical evening of Jun 5,2010.

The "GEM" a nice concept but what about an awards show?

A new concept called GEM(Going that Extra Mile) was introduced by our PwC office where each manager has to nominate one person as his GEM for really going that extra mile:).I too was a beneficiary to that award and yeah it was nice being recognised.But wait,why cant we have a yearly awards show ala Filmfare/Oscars where we can nominate and give prizes in different categories.Now doesn't that sound interesting. Here's my sample list of Categories. Many more could be added :)
- "Best Audit Team"
- "Best Audit File"
- "Best Article/Manager/Partner"
- "Best Documentation"(Both Individual Component/Overall Audit)
- "Best Formatting"
- "Most Complete Audit File"
- "Most Informative Audit File"
- "Best Newcomer Award"(Honouring the young achievers who've put in a storming performance in their very 1st year)
- "Most creative piece of work"
- "Lifetime Achievement Award"(For those long serving souls whose work speaks louder than words)
- "Others"(Best Dressed/Best Personality,get as creative as you wish)

Add to that an EMCEE, some sing and dance performances and we could have the most perfect glitzy evening celebrating and recognising the best of the year gone ahead. We can have an esteemed panel of judges to do the nominating and probably a voting process to select the best of the best.

Though this entire concept seems too far fetched, I truly believe it is the best way to generate employee bonhomie and camaraderie among the people of this organisation. It is sad but the fact of the matter is half of the people do not know one another in spite of belonging to the same organisation. I know its because of the nature of work so at least a day can be celebrated where the comrades come to know about their counterparts achievements. (another of course being a yearly firm day out)

Also some other things which I wish the organisation does:
- Open a Library - I believe its a must and the entire repository of knowledge should be shared and given access to all.
- Screen a popular movie/show on a monthly basis
- Have stimulating discussions on topics both audit and non audit on a regular basis

Lets wait and watch whether all these eventually turn out to be a reality. Fingers Crossed!

Dude vs Babe? Can we use Babe as opposed to Dude?

Of late I've been observing that the word "Dude" is attaining CULT Status and has really caught on the imagination especially amongst the next gen, but I'm perplexed that the equivalent of Dude ie. Babe (for gals) is not being used so vividly as much as its illustrious counterpart. Ever wondered why? What can be the reasons attributed? Also curious to know whether we can use Babe for girl as opposed to Dude for Boy, so lets get on the Jungle Hunt and investigate.

Lets face it Dude is ruling the roost everywhere whether on Facebook, Twitter, Random conversations, Messenger, WhatsApp and what not.
The way it is being used you slowly begin to feel that people will start forgetting the names of one another. :)[Pardon me for the really poor joke :D]

I must also admit that though initially i thought Dude was "Peter" , I too have slowly but surely fallen prey to the Dude Culture and have started addressing many of my folks as Dude. Even some girls have addressed me as Dude but I've never called any girl as Babe over a normal conversation which I always wonder why ?

Lets check out the Dictionary Meaning
Dude = Fellow (come on lets face it, it's generally addressed to a boy)
Babe = Young Lady
Though the Dictionary doesn't give a true picture at least in the meaning of "slang", Dude/Babe is referred to a boy/girl.

Another thing is equating Dude and Babe with "Da" and "Di" respectively. To be frank Da sounds perfectly cool and normal whether its a guy or girl addressing a guy whereas at least in my opinion Di sounds little cheap and local and I personally do not like mentioning any girl as Di. Is it one of the reasons why we(I) refrain from using Babe? And let me tell you that the girls don't like it one bit when they are referred to as Di by a guy. :)

And is it that only the loved ones need to be referred to as Babe? As like Sugar, Honey, Sweetie Pie, Barbie Doll etc and we don't have the right to call any girl as Babe barring our girlfriend(s). [So what about the guys who don't have one?? No Freedom of Expression also..:)]

So in eventuality whats the reason?? I am still confused as ever.
I suppose the best way to find out is by experimenting with a girl and just hoping that u don't get --------(you can fill according to your own whims and fancies).:)

Cricket Debut Quiz!

This was a quiz which I posted in Facebook some time back on one of my favourite topics well what else but "CRICKET". Thought of just posting the same on the Blog. So all cricket enthusiasts start getting your brains cracking because this is a real toughie..:)
Facebook link:http://apps.facebook.com/flixster/quiz/results?q=846336

Well here goes..
Question 1
Who among these Wicket Keepers have scored a test century on Debut?
1. Adam Gilchrist
2. Romesh Kaluwitharana
3. Mark Boucher
4. Nayan Mongia

Question 2
Only 2 players from the same team making their debut in the same match have scored Test centuries on their debut.Which 2 players are being referred?
1. Saurav Ganguly&Rahul Dravid(Ind)
2. Bill Lawry&Bob Simpson(Aus)
3. Andrew Strauss&Ian Bell(Eng)
4. Ali Naqvi&Azhar Mahmood(Pak)

Question 3
Which cricketer scored a duck&a century on his test match debut?
1. Andrew Strauss(Eng)
2. Gundappa Vishwanath(Ind)
3. Michael Clarke(Aus)
4. Javed Miandad(Pak)

Question 4
The 1st ever test match in 1877 saw Australia defeating England by 45 runs.Which was the venue?
1. Oval
2. SCG
3. Lords
4. MCG

Question 5
Which of these famous cricketers scored a duck on their ODI Debut?
1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Brian Lara
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Jacques Kallis

Question 6
Year:1988
Venue:Chepauk,Madras
A bowler made his debut and took 16 wkts in the match(still the best ever figures on debut).The same match also saw a first time captain.Name the bowler&captain?
1. Pat Patterson&Richie Richardson
2. Maninder Singh&Ravi Shastri
3. Narendra Hirwani&Ravi Shastri
4. Ian Bishop&Richie Richardson

Question 7
2 Cricketers made their debut in the match in which Sri Lanka amassed 952(the highest ever test score) in one innings against India in 1997.Which 2 cricketers made their debut in this match?
1. Abey Kuruvilla&Kumara Sangakkara
2. Abey Kuruvilla&Mahela Jayawardene
3. Nilesh Kulkarni&Mahela Jayawardene
4. Nilesh Kulkarni&Kumara Sangakkara

Question 8
Who faced the first ever delivery in ODI Cricket?
1. Sunil Gavaskar(Ind)
2. Dennis Amiss(Eng)
3. Geoffrey Boycott(Eng)
4. Bob Simpson(Aus)

Question 9
Among all these players who scored a ODI century on Debut,who scored the most?
1. Desmond Haynes(WI)
2. Saleem Elahi(Pak)
3. Andy Flower(Zim)
4. Dennis Amiss(Eng)

Question 10
Which among these players have scored a century in their 1st&last test?
1. Inzamam Ul Haq(Pak)
2. Mohammed Azharuddin(Ind)
3. Salim Malik(Pak)
4. Graham Thorpe(Eng)


Answers
Question 1
2. Romesh Kaluwitharana

Question 2
4. Ali Naqvi&Azhar Mahmood(Pak) (Correct Answer)

Question 3
2. Gundappa Vishwanath(Ind)

Question 4
4. MCG (Correct Answer)

Question 5
1. Sachin Tendulkar

Question 6
3. Narendra Hirwani&Ravi Shastri

Question 7
3. Nilesh Kulkarni&Mahela Jayawardene

Question 8
3. Geoffrey Boycott(Eng)

Question 9
1. Desmond Haynes(WI)

Question 10
2. Mohammed Azharuddin(Ind)

Is Roger Federer the greatest of them all?

Roger Federer finally realising his dream of winning the French Open

Federer finally scaled the everest by winning the coveted French title to win all 4 Grand slams and also equal Pete Sampras tally of 14 Grand slams.Though the victory didn't come against his old foe Nadal, he still must be over the moon for conquering his conquerors conqueror.

I seriously doubted him from winning the french riviera especially after the pummelling he received at the hands of the Raging Bull from Mallorca in last years most lop sided final of all time, but destiny has its own way of saying things and it said that Fedex will win it and he did :).

Just a small gist of achievements of this glittering man from Switzerland:
* This is his 14th Grand Slam Title thus emulating Pete Sampras tally.
* This is his 19th Grand Slam Final. It's believed only Ivan Lendl has more finals to his credit with 21.
* This is his (believe it or not) 20th Consecutive appearance in a Grand Slam Semi Final. An absolutely unbelievable achievement truly underlying his consistency.
*He becomes only the 6th Man to win all 4 Grand Slams. (Last was Agassi)

So is the Fed Express the greatest to have ever played the game?
His achievements certainly point to the affirmative.

Only 2 things go against him..
He has never achieved the Golden Slam (ie. winning all 4 slams in a year). Rod Laver has done it twice in 1962 and 1969.
He has never really got the better of his bitter arch rival Rafael Nadal coming second best on many occasions. (especially on the hallowed turf of clay)

I doubt he will ever achieve the golden slam but beating his biggest rival Nadal in the French Open Final will be the icing on the cake for this illustrious man full of wonderful achievements. Hypothetically speaking if only Nadal were not present in this generation, nothing would have stopped him from being the greatest of all time. He would have not only won the Golden Slam, he would have also had 20 Grand Slams in his kitty (4 continuous French Opens (2005-2008),Wimbledon 2008 and Australian Open 2009)

So till he fixes the missing parts of the jigsaw puzzle, debates will continue and questions will always be raised as to whether he is the greatest of all but to my eyes he is the simply the greatest. (especially after winning Roland Garros which I seriously doubted)
Just a simple point to substantiate my view - no one in the history of the game has been so consistent over a period of time and this alone is testimony to prove all his detractors!

A Year of Articleship - The Roughside!

More than a year has elapsed since I joined work. It's amazing to know how time flies. Its difficult to configure that so much has happened over the past 1 yr as life has undergone a major change.

Some of the things i miss:
Very little time spent with family..very often i come home when everyone has already gone to sleep..most of the time am not even aware of the usual happenings within the house..its hard to believe but true..

The Frequency of meeting friends on a regular basis has skyrocketed downwards..rarely do i meet them nowadays..it has become so bad that some of them have stopped asking me if i would come for a movie because they have been so used to hearing the paradox statement "No I Have Work"

Even some of my regular interests like hearing/playing Music etc has diminished radically..i feel very bad for this..Actually i should be more blamed for this..

Another important thing which i keep thinking about is how I'm going to manage with studies and classes considering the work pressure and the fact that most of the time I'm being sent outstation..

I don't even read the newspaper most of the days..cricket matches which i earlier used to watch Ball By Ball now i only just follow the score..

Procrastination is another factor affecting my life in a major way..I've been wanting to clean my computer(ie transferring the excess data in my Harddisk and External Hard Drive to DVD'S and i wanted to get it done by Dec-07),still i haven't been able to, this is just one reason, there are many many more. Books i haven't still read, movies I haven't still seen, haven't updated my cellphone for more than a year. My Ipod is lying all alone without its best friend and worse I've not been posting on my Blog!

But all these things can wait now as studies form the highest priority..With just about 5 months left I'm fighting against time..lets just hope that all goes well and i very soon write a positive article on the brighter side of doing articles in a Big4:).

Rain special songs of Ilaiyaraaja!

Whenever there is rain you feel a feeling of freshness and hearing Raja's songs raises your level of freshness, happiness and exuberance. In this series, I have handpicked 4 Raaja songs that are lilting with the rain drops dancing along adding to the excitement.

1) Song: Oh Oh Meham
Film: Mouna Ragam
Year:1986

This Maniratnam film sees a young girl (Revathi) and her college friends enjoying their youthful days and freaking out in the rain. Sung brilliantly by Janaki, this is an awesome composition. The prelude starts with a thrill of xylophone. Use of whistles and drums in the first interlude and the marriage of sorts between mouth organ and trumpet in the 2nd interlude makes for a fantastic composition.
Enjoy the rain! Enjoy the brilliance!

2) Song:Vaan Megam
Film:Punnagai Mannan
Year:1986

The same girl (Revathi) whose zest and energy hasn't diminished goes full throttle in this song. Incidentally this song follows closely on the heels of Oh Oh Megam having released just a couple of months later after Mouna Ragam. The film happens to be a historic one for many reasons. It was the last movie of the Ilayaraja-Vairamuthu combo and the first movie of the trio of K Balachander-Ilayaraja-Kamal Hassan. One of Chitra's finest songs. Wonderful preludes and interludes. Hear the melody which goes side by side with the singing. Outstanding is not the right word to describe this composition. What is it? I'm still searching for an answer

3) Song:Aathadi Ammadi
Film:Idhayathai Thirudathe
Year:1989

Raja goes one notch higher with this song. Managed to hear this song only recently and instantly got hooked onto it. This is the intro song of another heroine Girija who again is seen dancing in the rain. Chitra is in her elements. The use of Trumpet in the 1st interlude and Harmonium&Flute in parallel in the 2nd interlude is simply superb. This is actually a Maniratnam telugu film by the name Geethanjali that got dubbed into Tamil.

4)Song:Ponvanam Panneer
Film:Indru Nee Naalai Naan
Year:1983

This is a song in the rain between Lakshmi and Shivakumar. Janaki's voice especially the humming at the beginning and in the1st interlude is simply mesmerising. The bass guitar sounds like the raindrops and the flute in the 2nd Interlude is so soothing. A truly memorable song!

4)Song:Megam Kottattum
Film:Enakkul Oruvan
Year:1984

Talking about rain songs, it's very hard to ignore this pearler of a rain scorching number that dances along merrily through the bass infused rain drops. This one is as peppy as it gets and is an absolute riot. Perfect song to put on your dancing shoes and get soaked in the rain listening to the magnificent bass line that goes on a transcending channel on it's very own giving such a lilting effect.

Go Audit Day 9

Finally the last day had dawned upon us..The 1st session was on testing Debtors Confirmation where we had to Target Test a few parties..The Instructor acted as client and whatever doubts we had regarding the same,we had to clarify.
Next was a session on Creditors and Unrecorded Liab..Basically it was to check on the documentation bit,as to how we have done and the rationale behind the same.

Then we had lunch,no surprises here,only disappointment.I expected something special being the last day but no even the pastry was replaced by Payasam(much to my disapp..perhaps they were scared i would wipe out another row :) this time also)
After Lunch we had a brief session on Audit Completion.. it was about what all we have to address during the final Stages,the checklists we have to fll etc..

After that we had a recap session on what all we had learnt..we actually had to fill a questionaire on how we rate ourselves with the client as well as the team on various matters..Then we were a given a lecture on the importance of belonging to this organisation and how we should plan and organise our work in order to achieve maximum efficiency.
Almost towards the end at the penultimate moment each of us were asked to state 1 fact we would want to improve ourselves in and what effort we should take to achieve that.
Finally there was a video presenation(recap) of all we had learnt over the past 9 days

So,it was a different experience..it was a welcome change to be away from work for such a long time..the camaraderie was there to see..and the knowledge and learning we received should hopefully be beneficial in the time to come!!

Go Audit Day 8

The 1st half of the day saw an extended session of Cash and Bank.We first listed down what all assertions and factors influence the validation of Cash and Bank..We were then provided Data and asked to validate and Document on the MyClient for the Dummy Client Simply Sauces..There were many steps and it took quite a time.

Then it was lunch..the food was same as before,in the pastry section Fruit Trifle substituted for Pineapple Gateaux..it was ok not upto my expectations:),i had only 1 serving..(a drastic reduction on the intake compared to yesterday)

The 1st half of the post lunch session was on GTS.We were given brief explaination about the server,connectivity etc and pictorial representations were displayed to show the flow of data to various locations.Also was said about the maintainence of Laptop,how careful we should be,what stuff to have and what not to.Also stress was laid on the topic of Replication(well obviously considering the importance)

The 2nd half was on Fraud Risk.We were asked as to in what all situations and what all components fraud generally arises..There were also discussions on the Enron Scam and other egs highlighting Fraud..Also was put up a video showing a real life incident where one man had done fraud worth over millions of Dollars.We were asked questions based on the video and were explained about the fraud and how fraud can be eradicated if we follow our audit principles rigidly.It wqs the longest day and ended only at 7,the last 1/2 hour was more on what PWC Stands for,what its worth is,how well its recognised the world over,We were also told about the London Office which is supposed to have 29 Floors.
So that was about the Penultimate Day.Are we in for any surprises on the final Day??..my guess is as good as yours!!