www.kurukshetra.org.in

A site that's a must visit :)

The Contemplative Soul

Here's a blog of repute... It definitely had to be featured on my site.The author is a doctor in the making and more importantly an amazing friend. Happy reading :)


http://trivialife.blogspot.com/

Guess I have decent marketing skills :) Blogspot, if you're listening, I've got a fantastic writer to contribute to your site. And in true Bond style - Swathi.... Swathi Meenakshi is the name :) And to all the people out there... BEWARE! :P This girl is going to win the Booker or the Pulitzer in the near future... I can bet my bottom dollar on that... ( pretty expensive now... considering the dollar's going at nearly 50 Rupees! ) Swathi , you'd better get me good returns on my investment :) Your first lesson on how to manage people's money ... :P

A brilliant mail that I just received!

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I'd like better.
I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches. I really would.

I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated.
I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.
And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.

It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room,but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him.

When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him/her.
I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.

On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.

If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.
I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.

When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.

I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy\girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.

I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it.. And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma/Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle.

May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.

I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor's window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Hannukah/Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life.

Richard Clayderman

An all time favourite - Love Story

Haydn

Here's 2/3 of a piece I played for my ATCL... Sonata in E Minor by Joseph Haydn

All the pics in my videos have been taken on my trips in and around Chennai :D

Old memories

Here's a recording I did in the 8th... the background score is a wee bit too loud... :)

Tragedy

This isn't one of those blogs that give you morbid details :)

Flashback time!!! :)

It was the year 2000, Y2K as most engineers would prefer to call it... Kamaraj Arangam in Teynampet was the place to be. Activity 2000 conducted by Wipro was in town and it was time to "express ourselves".

For us at school it was a fun day out. Two whole buses filled with screaming kids from the 8th to the 10th were on the way to win a few prizes but more importantly to have fun! :)

I was supposed to participate in the poetry writing competition as I'd already contributed a few to the school magazine. But as I've learnt : I can't write poetry under pressure. Well may be I can make a few words rhyme... but beyond that... NO WAY!!!

The "Mr and Ms Personality" competition was the highlight of the day. The whole bunch of us Josephites decided to give it a shot as we had nothing to lose. First we had to fill up a questionnaire which was basically a SWOT analysis and then answer a few questions. Having finished that we decided to go cheer our fellow school mates who were participating in the other competitions. The results were finally announced and I was one among the 20 selected from over a 1000 candidates who'd written the test. And the biggest surprise was that I was the youngest of the lot... barely 11... while the average age of the semifinalists was 14-15!!!

The next round was the interview. After that there were just 10 of us left. (I felt like Thumbelina next to my fellow finalists who were either in the 11th or the 12th! )

The finals were on stage and it was time to confront my deepest fears.

• I'd never spoken before a crowd of over 2000 people with most of them older than me
• With a name like Maria, which everyone chooses to sing about... from Ricky Martin to Carlos Santana ... things can get pretty rough on stage especially with the whole crowd singing those songs... ( I tell you... pretty unnerving!!!!)
• The song I chose to sing for the talent round hit really high notes... which unfortunately I wasn't able to "hit" :D A total tragedy... and no 2 guesses for this... the name of the song was Tragedy by the BeeGees :D Despite all the booing I decided to finish the whole song... The reason being: it was my five minutes on stage... :)
• I was asked to speak about co-education in schools since I was from an "all-girls" school :) and the next five minutes were the longest in my life.. (Theory of Relativity) :)
  

Well, finally I did win... Guess "tragedy" was my stepping stone to success :P

Music and me

A 5 year old girl sits down and feels the ivories, her little fingers can barely reach the entire length of the octave.
Fast foward 15 years... today that girl has been awarded the Associate, Trinity College,London.
And finally her fingers do reach!!! :)

Check out her videos...follow the link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7npB6Mzd3zM

There are 3 more there. The piano isn't properly tuned though :)

P.S. That 5 year old was me :)

Thank you Goldwave

An out of tune piano and an equally bad microphone... uh... bad combo!!!
Enter Goldwave and now it's finally music to one's ears :)

This is from my "anthology" of poems written at a tender young age :)

People were charging
There was madness in the air
All hell was breaking loose
There was violence that even I couldn't bear!!!

Friends were fighting
And enemies even more
Warfare in today's world is nothing new
So is blood and gore...

Couldn't there be peace?
Was it worth fighting for?
Nails were being broken
And it was only red that stained the walls...

And finally there was silence
Nobody could even believe...
That the last slice of pizza that they had all been fighting over
Had already been eaten by me!!!

P.S.Don't worry...the "red" I was referring to was only tomato ketchup.... :)

The Crossroads




As I stand at the crossroads
And decide
Which road to take :
The one oh so narrow
Or the other one - pretty wide;
I realise that life isn't so simple-
It's not only good or only bad...

It's all about complex reactions
And mysteries so deep
That if I try pondering over them
I can just forget about sleep.

So coming back to the crossroads
I have to decide
Which road to take
Which vehicle to ride.

I've been here many times before
And have always wondered why
It's all about decisions and never
A "one road ride"!!!

Well I guess that's what adds the flavour
And the mystery to this play
The one we call life
The one we measure in days.

As I sit down to ponder which road to take
Some people say: take the road less travelled
Others say that's the biggest mistake.

And then realisation dawns and I make up my mind
I'll take none of these roads
Instead , on eagle's wings I will soar high
Where the only limit will be the sky ...

- Maria Fernandez

Why do I blog???

Why do I blog?
Well...I really don't know...
Is it an expression of passion?
Or a talent embedded somewhere deep below?

Is it the need to be connected
Or to just move with the flow?
Or is it the opportunity to express
Feelings - both highs and lows?

Is it the need to be heard
Or to force others to hear?
Is it the need to be noticed
Or is it just following the herd?

Whatever be the reason
I can't fathom why
But all I do know is that
Blogging gets me on a high ! :)

Words

Most of today's songs are all about love or getting over past relationships... rarely do you come across a really motivational song.I happened to find one of those and thought it best to put it on my blog so that I'd get a morale boost :)

I have often dreamed
Of a far off place
Where a hero's welcome
Would be waiting for me
Where the crowds will cheer
When they see my face
And a voice keeps saying
This is where I'm meant to be

I'll be there someday
I can go the distance
I will find my way
If I can be strong
I know ev'ry mile
Will be worth my while
When I go the distance
I'll be right where I belong

Down an unknown road
To embrace my fate
Though the road may wander
It will lead me to you
And a thousand years
Would be worth the wait
It may take a lifetime
But somehow I'll see it through

And I won't look back
I can go the distance
And I'll stay on track
No I won't accept defeat
It's an uphill slope
But I won't lose hope
Till I go the distance
And my journey is complete

But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part
For a hero's strength is measured by his heart

Like a shooting star
I can go the distance
I will search the world
I will face its harms
I don't care how far
I can go the distance
Till I find my hero's welcome
Waiting in your arms...

I will search the world
I will face its harms
Till I find my hero's welcome
Waiting in your arms...

The American story

I switch on the tele and every channel seems to be talking about Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama - the epic battle between a woman and a black for the most coveted position in America. These are two people who have really inspired me - despite the odds, they have dared to dream, to go where no "man" dared go before, t0 tread the unbeaten path.
Personally, the American election shouldn't mean so much to me considering I'm an Indian and at present it's only the plummeting stock market that seems to be making the headlines together with rising inflation. But, we have a lesson or two to learn from the primaries - to dream big and to believe that together we can.

The start of something new

"Everybody's doing it so why can't I???"
Blogging seems to be the latest fad on a long list that includes the indispensable Messenger and the more recent social networking sites like Orkut.

"Hate it or love it... but you just can't ignore it"
Well here I go... wish me luck as I venture into unknown territory :) (I know that sounds pretty dramatic... but what is life without a little spice ? ;) )