Mackenna's Gold was the first Western Movie I watched, as usual with Shivaji. We were planning to watch a Tamil Movie and knew getting ticket was not going to be easy. One of Shivaji's elder brothers suggested, if we didn't get tickets, we should try Mackenna's Gold and watch out for Omar Sharif and his... Continue Reading →
Sholay was the first movie I saw with Shivaji. OK Let me start at the beginning. The KMR family migrated to Chennai from Mahabalipuram in the summer of 1973 and we joined Anjuham High School (Vasanthy, JK and I) and Mohan joined a primary school nearby. I joined in the seventh class and soon became... Continue Reading →
Indian Railways says, in their website, "The formal inauguration ceremony was performed on 16th April 1853, when 14 railway carriages carrying about 400 guests left Bori Bunder at 3.30 pm "amidst the loud applause of a vast multitude and to the salute of 21 guns."" Thus Indian Railways has become a part of every Indian's... Continue Reading →
The first advertisement we ever listened to as kids must be 'கோபால் பற்பொடி' Gopal Toothpowder ad. The ad lasted probably ten seconds with just one line. இந்தியா இலங்கை, மலேசியா சிங்கபூர் ஆகிய நாடுகளில் மக்களின் பேராதரவு பெற்ற பல்பொடி, "கோபால் பல்பொடி". "The only toothpowder which has people patronise in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore is Gopal Toothpowder." This ad... Continue Reading →
In 1983, forty years and a fortnight ago, I arrived in Pune Station from Madras (now Chennai) with a suitcase (a soft luggage from VIP) and a small shoulder bag. My brother in law Venkatesh picked me up from the station and we took a local train to a distant suburb called Begdewadi. We alighted... Continue Reading →
JK sent an advertisement of a 'Two in One' (A Cassette Player and Radio for the uninitiated) last week. This ad about Bush Radio and Tape Recorder came in the late seventies and my uncle had one. This was our first exposure to songs on a tape and I have listened to Muqqadar Ka Sikandar... Continue Reading →
The first Independence Day celebration I remember is the 25th Anniversary of Independence celebrated in 1972. I was nine years old and the Government Primary School where I was studying, arranged an elocution competition. The topic was 'Village or City Life - which is better.' I still remember the teacher who wrote the essay for... Continue Reading →
Renuka's aunt from Australia sent a WhatsApp clip in the morning and commented that her mother used to sing this song well. Renuka played the clip and I sang few lines along. It is probably few decades since I last listened to the song. The song was Nadha Vindhu, a hymn on Lord Muruga written... Continue Reading →
First a confession. I bunked work yesterday and spent time watching YouTube videos; some trivia, some trash and lot of serious stuff. Now that the guilt is off my chest, let me get to the subject. Rachna and her cousins spent some time vacationing in Udaipur and on her return, she said, "Dad you know... Continue Reading →
Few years ago, I sat down to find out the best of World War II movies and collect them. This was much before Netflix had come to India so the idea was to buy Blu-ray disc. Couple of movies I had seen, had figured in the list and many did not. I was thinking that... Continue Reading →
Biking. Adventure. Nostalgia.x 