Retro Music Collection

Harry S. Anchan has a website dedicated to good music  . You can find a very good collection of rare English retro pop numbers from 50's to 80's.  You can also listen to Malayalam and  Kannada  songs too.

'Devaru' - questioning the ultimate

Devaru is a book that questions the existence of power that is known as god. Written by a well known Kannada writer AN Murthy Roa, it is worth a read. AN Murthy Roa is well known for his agnostic thoughts. The author counters the belief in god by laying valid scientific analysis. Explains how the concept of god would have got ingrained in human psyche.

Though I am not a atheist , I found the book engaging. If you have a scientific temper you would find yourself agreeing with the author while reading the book. It does not matter if you are agnost or a believer.

Punctuation Game.

A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.

Punctuation makes all the difference!. 


Play the Punctuation Game here  and find out how punctuation can make 
a world of difference to your writing.

Currently Listening..

A foot tapping number  from AR Rehman for Aa Aah , Anbe Aaruyire..but it resembles many of his earlier compositions, nonetheless a good number.

The Fab Five

Illayaraja is honoured as Isaignani and AR Rehman is hailed as the Mozart from Madras.Are these peans on the two composers misplaced ? Certainly not. Here I list five compositions of each, the fab five, which I think should seal the fact that they are global musical intellects par none.

Illayaraja.

Ithu Oru Pon Malai - Nizhalgal
Kadhal Kavithaigal - Gopura Vasalilae
Ithazhil Kathayezhuthum - Unnal Mudiyum Thambi
Ilaya Nila - Payanangal Mudivathilai
Naguva nayana (Kannada)- Pallavi Anupallavi

AR Rehman

Pudhu Vellai Mazhai - Roja
Anjali Anjali - Duet
En Mel Vizhundha - May Madham
Kannalanae - Bombay
Thoda Thoda Malardhadhenna - Indra

Humour in science

New Scientist, a weekly science and technology magazine carries a regular feature called Feedback. Its
about humour in everyday science. I quite regularly visit the website and check it out. To mention a example,
Feedback once had this to say :

While shopping in Tesco supermarket recently, Tony Park noticed a section of the display labelled "invisible thread". It appeared to be sold out, but Park wasn't sure.


Numerous instances of humour of this kind and others have been published in Feedback.

There is also a Q&A feature called The Last word. In this readers can send in questions pertaining to everyday science.
The answers too are provided by the readers. One question which recently impressed me was this:
Wheel seems to be a convenient sort of locomotion, then why did not wheels evolve in nature?

A very good question isn't? The answers sent in by readers also were too good. So check out the website and have fun with feedback
and come to know better your world around with The Last word.

'The House of Blue Mangoes' - Tasteful

For the past two weeks, in my free time, I was occupied with the novel 'The House of Blue Mangoes' David Davidar. I completed reading it .David Davidar has made his debut with this book. I bought this book in the 'Sapna' bookstall in Bangalore. I remembered reading reviews of this book when it was initially published. Critics had showered praised on this book. The book engrosses the reader very much. The story traveses thorough the three generations of a Tamil family.Being a Tamilian myself , it wasn't difficult for me get involved in reading the book. Set in the period of British occupation of India the book throws up lot of things to contemplate upon. What I liked most about is the authors writing of emotional circumstances. You develope a relationship with the characters of the novel and when they die you sense a personal loss.

David is now working on his second novel. A report about the same can be found here.

Separation

Here we go again..another poem. I like reading poems composed with just few lines. Haikus are interesting but poems spanning many lines put me off , its not that I hate them but I would get tired reading them! Separation is one such short poem that touches your heart immediately. Composed by WS Merwin. Don't ask me about the poet. I know not who WS Merwin is. Happenned to read the poem while surfing the net.

Unfolding Bud - The poem about poem

Beautifully explained as how the poems reveal their inner meanings gradually as one reads them over and over again.

The Music of the Primes

I am not too good in mathematics but I love mathematics and I appreciate its significance. I have a great regard for those who are exceptional in this subject. That is the reason I bought the book “The Music of the Primes” by Marcus du Sautoy. The book is about prime numbers, the main theme centered on Riemann Hypothesis. Riemann Hypothesis fundamentally states that there is inherent harmony in the prime numbers, the music of prime numbers. The nature of the prime numbers is not random, as it appears to be. The book was very engaging. I appreciate the authors’ skill in explaining things in a lucid way that even those who are not into mathematics would enjoy reading it.

If you would like to know more, visit http://www.musicoftheprimes.com/

Illayaraja's Thiruvasagam

Illayaraja's Thiruvasagam will be released on June 30th. I cannot help longing for that day after I read Sujatha's "Katrathum Petrathum" article in 'Ananda Vikatan' magazine. In the article he writes that Raja has created a true masterpiece and that he was mesmerised by listening to couple of compositions.

I am confident that Illayaraja's Thiruvasagam will have the vintage Illayaraja's stamp all over it. However I also pray that it does not fall short of our expectations like how it happens with his work for movies oflate.

Attempting Engineering Services Exam

I am an Engineering graduate.In my eighth semester I dicided to subscribe for the Brilliant tutorials coaching materials for Engineering Services Exam, year 2005.I was not confident of landing in a job and thought that the days after my university exam I need not waste time but do something worthwhile.I did subscribe.Later there was a surprise, I got a job through campus recruitment .My designation- Software Engineer. I was delighted for I thought it was possible for me to prepare for the exams without any stress for I have a job. But things didn't work that way . Work was hectic. I did not get any free time except for week days. My laziness got better of my interest in writing the exam that I did not touch the study materials which were arriving regularly from the tutorial.

Employment news annouced that UPSC is inviting applications for the Engineering Services Exam 2005. I was in two minds whether to apply not. I decide to write, fully aware that my performance would be worse. I posted the application , a month later I recieved the admission ticket also.

Usually the exam is on three days. First day, the test is to gauge candidate's english ability and current affairs. Second day is objective type test on technical subject. Third day is a conventional type technical paper, just like the university semester exam .

My performance was good in the general ability test , pretty much OK in the objective type test but it was total disaster for the conventional paper. I could not answer even a single question.One rule for the exam was that the candidates are not allowed to exit the hall till the alloted time expires. So I spent time by going through each
question and remembering the semester in which I had come across that topic, lecturer who handled the the subject , interesting happenings during the lecture hours and so on.Thus I must say that though my performance was dismal I enjoyed sitting for the exam for it was reminiscent of my college days.

Test Blog

This is my first writing, a test blog.