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The Emotions after . . .

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I've lost track of the number of Arangetrams I've watched from the wings. But the mood of one that is well done is always the same. When I can feel what the dancer feels, I think it's perhaps even more intense than a wedding day, except that I have no notion of how that feels. On the day of anyone's Arangetram, I feel humility. I feel, "Can I do that? Can I do that as well as she does it?" On the day of an Arangetram, I feel pride and joy. "This girl has actually taken that step. She has come far enough to take this step. She has actually achieved this." On the day of an Arangetram, I feel fear. "Will she live up to her own expectations? And that niggling voice - what does my teacher think of the way she's doing it?" On the day of an Arangtram, I feel awe. "This is a beginning. A grand and glorious beginning of a girl's new life." What a day it always is. Sometimes, I think watching … [Read more...]

Arangetram on Friday

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Tejashree Natu, disciple of Guru Smt Mythili Raghavan, will be performing her Arangetram on Friday, the 30th of August, at Tilak Smarak Mandir at 5:45 p.m.  Credits Nattuvangam: Guru Smt Mythili Raghavan Vocal: Sri Sivaprasad Mridangam: Sri Sankar Narayanan Violin: Sri Anantharaman Make-up: Sri Mohan and Smt Lakshmi Compères: Nisha and Varsha Programme Alarippu (Panchajati) Thodaya Mangalam (Raagamaalikai) Varnam (Thodi) Keerthanam (Poorva Kalyani) Shlokam - Kastwam Bala Abhang Thillana (Hindolam) … [Read more...]

Seatbelt

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During an exchange programme with a school in France, I noticed something I had never noticed before - rickshaws do not have doors! The first time I went in a rickshaw with my French correspondent, my eyes widened. How comfortable would she feel? Would she be afraid of a vehicle like this without doors? I glanced sideways at her. But like a true exchange student, she had come with an open mind. I saw her steel herself and deliberately remain silent with respect to this doorless wonder. I breathed a sigh of relief. Inside the rickshaw, she looked around, confused. "What happened?" I asked. She looked at me in horror. "There are no seatbelts?" … [Read more...]

Advertisement

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A banner I saw made me chuckle all the way to school: POSH ROOMS AVAILABLE ON COT BASIS … [Read more...]

Mr. Popper’s Penguins

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Perhaps Peppy created "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper corn." Because Peppy, Mr. Popper's personal assistant, takes particular pleasure in paraphrasing paragraphs to produce passages that permit plentiful pronunciations of /p/. What a delightful movie! Why is it, though, that I cannot watch a movie with animals in it without wincing inwardly at the thought of how those animals were trained? While watching horror movies, I find it difficult to step back and think of the characters as actors. While watching movies with animals, I cannot involve myself enough to be swept away by the love and loyalty of the animals. Mr. Popper's Penguins taught me a valuable lesson about story-telling, though. A story does not need to be entirely believable. That's what imagination is about. I think the perfect story manages to unite simple joys and simple treasures with crazy situations that … [Read more...]

Dragonfly

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Some pacy books are formulaic, and this one is one of them.Prince must marry Princess - it's a political alliance. Prince and Princess hate each other; they have all kinds of adventures; then they love each other; then they get married.This fits in exactly. Yet, Dragonfly warmed me. There are some books that, like Disney movies, touch you even if you can tell, scene by scene, what's going to happen. Tashi, the young princess, grows to be a person, not a white painted princess. The idea of romance across cultures is amusing, inviting and heart-warming. Yet, one idea in the book that truly startled me was the realisation of how easy it is for a young girl (princess or otherwise) to feel guilty when she does not return a suitor's love. That, I think, is what made my eyes widen. Not the love story, not the elaborate courtship, none of it. Yet, when Tashi wants to reject Merl, but … [Read more...]

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

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I watched the movie two months ago, but did not write about it out of - I can't find a better word - cowardice. The whole world seemed to like the movie. On Facebook, everyone who spoke about it seemed thrilled to bits.When I hinted at things I found revolting about the film, I received a mild eye-roll with unspoken and spoken questions like It's just a movie; why are you taking things so literally? and Why do you over-analyse entertainment so much?I was expected, apparently, to tuck my brains under the closest seat and be hugely entertained.Needless to say, I was not. A friend's agreement with my stand finally brings out my tirade.Why is it acceptable that Whats-his-name reads Whats-her-name's messages?Why does Whats-her-name merely blush, embarrassed and pleased, when Whats-his-name teases her about the messages?Why is it acceptable that Whats-his-name tells Whats-her-name's date that … [Read more...]

Independence Day

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I have a dear friend who is half-French, half-Brazilian. She's been living in India for about five years now, and is a unique blend of several cultures. Here's what she said about the 15th of August, 2013. How I feel during Independence Day...  So today is Independence Day and I went for Flag hoisting in my schoolThe attendance is compulsory and and I am a batch holder so there is no way I can miss. But even if i could I wouldn't! People might think I'd get extremely bored… half the speeches are in marathi, and the songs in hindi and the fact that I am not Indian by blood… But no, not at all... I love celebrating Independence Day. I love standing in line singing the Rashtra geet with everyone accompanied with the sound of drums, I love singing Vande Maataram and the satisfying fact that I know how to sing it and I know and love the meaning.I even love standing there int he middle of … [Read more...]