Category: Information

CaneCan new finding in Madurai


One of the latest findings in Madurai is this joint CaneCan which is opposite to Germanus Hotel. We found it once while driving that way and we wanted to give it a try and when we got in we were in for a surprise.

There was a huge list of flavored sugar cane juice. This was something new for me and I immediately jumped in and tasted 6 varieties of cane juice. There are the available flavors and the bolded ones are my favorites;

  • Natural cane juice
  • Lemon cane juice
  • Ginger cane juice
  • Lime & Ginger cane juice
  • Salt & Pepper cane juice
  • Mint cane juice
  • Chilli cane juice
  • Honey cane juice
  • Mango cane juice
  • Pineapple cane juice
  • Orange cane juice
  • Strawberry cane juice
  • Litchi cane juice

Other important aspect to be noted in this joint is the importance they give for hygiene. Their suppliers wear gloves and they use disposable paper cups. Also cane’s are washed and keep in a refrigerators and it is served cool without using crushed-ice which is always unhygienic. 

Other important thing which impressed me is the testimonial which they get it from customers in a stick-it which will be displayed. Also one can see their joint being covered in almost all famous magazines in Madurai.

This is a small joint opposite to Germanus Hotel and can be easily located. This is a must visit joint in Madurai. Now this joint has become my desert point after having my dinner as it is near to my house and I normally walk to the joint.

Leader Insulted


One common trend in india is gaining popularity by aligning with Late(dead) leaders. Some common things they do are;

  • Building statues for leaders. Which is mostly used by birds to shit.
  • Celebrating their Birth & Death anniversaries by blocking roads.

Today while driving to office i came across images of Late leader M.G.Ramachandran fondly called as MGR all over Arcot road in chennai. Mostly all places were deserted and no one was there to take care of those images. Near Valasaravakkam i came across this scene and i immediately shot it. A cow eats the garland & flower kept for the leader.

I don’t know why at all they waste money, time & be a hindrance to public. Also they don’t do it with respect or from the heart. These things look like insulting the leader and in-fact general public only gets irritated by seeing these kind of non-sense.

Chennai Sangamam Rocks


Yesterday myself and Bala were working from home as business was sluggish because of Pongal Holidays. Then i got a call from a Sales guy who said he will visit our office by 4 PM to explain his product.

Me & Bala reached office by 4 PM and then we got a call from that guy telling he cant make it for the day. Then Bala asked if we can goto Chennai Sangamam & without any hesitation i agreed because.

  • Unable to hang out with Bala these days.
  • I missed last 2 Chennai Sangamam & i badly wanted to make it.

Then after attending some unexpected visitors & after picking some calls we left to Natesan Park Sangamam. It was a great for ones eyes to see lights decoration on the entire stretch of Venkarnarayana Road.

We parked the car on a near by road as the stretch was blocked & immediately i started clicking snaps. We enjoyed some half a kilometer walk by seeing the decorations.

On entering the park we were greeted by the aroma of food stalls on the entrance. Then a common welcome from Usman Road shop owners who sponsored the show. We entered the park watching People applying mehandhi, listening to astrology (Kili Josiyam & Regai Josiyam) all these are traditional astrological methods.

Then we went to watch a Mahabarath play. To be frank i’ve never seen a theru koothu / stage plays in my life. I’ve read all about these in books which says these were Tamilian Culture. I was very happy to get a glimpse of things which i’ve just imagined and I felt i must be lucky to see these things in my life time.

Also i’ve read a lot about how these traditional entertainers once were burnt because of cinemas, modern day technology like TV, internet. They find it hard to continue there generational livelihood and how they come out to make a better living. Such events makes audiences feel happy and also the it gives an opportunity to these Kalainargal (Artists) to make a living.

There different types of entertainment showcased like;

  • Oyilattam
  • Kuyilattam
  • Nerupuattam
  • Stage Plays
  • Street Plays
  • Poi Kal Kudurai
  • Thappata
  • Veera Saagasangal

and more types of traditional performances. When audiences & reporters flooded for a photo with them. These artists who were ignored for long felt happy to oblige an pose for photos and videos. Also people encouraged then by shouting, whistling etc.

Talking about the crowd, there were people from all status of life and i saw a bunch of elite crowd. Also there were foreigners who flooded to the show.

Then there were stalls from 5 star hotels to home cooked stalls which offered delicious traditional foods which were a gift to ones taste buds.

I must thank Ms.Kanimozhi for initiating such a spectacular even and making it a grand success. My only wish is to see this as a non-political even thought this was envisioned by someone with political background. I wish even if government changes this event continues.

While returning i came out as a happy man & a proud tamilian to  watch our old traditions & entertainment medias.

Google Launches Super Phone Nexus One


Salient features & information about Google Nexus One – Web Meets Phone. 

  • Handset is manufactured by HTC.
  • Software used is Google’s Android 2.1.
  • Can be purchased from http://www.google.com/phone.
  • Phone is prices at $179.
  • Device has 3.7-inch OLED 800 x 480 display.
  • Processor is 1 GHz Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm.
  • Device is 11.5 mm thick, and weighs just 130 grams
  • Device has 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and can take MPEG 4 videos.
  • Google applications such as Gmail, Google Voice and Google Maps Navigation are inbuilt.
  • Device has a career-independent model & also a model tied up with T-Mobile.
  • Already 5188 article based on Nexus One.

Cycle to Kovalam – Half day Cycling trip on Jan 14 Thursday


SUMMARY:

Objective – Cycle from Tidel Park to Kovalam and back.

Difficulty – This is an easy activity. Participants need to be in reasonable physical condition.

Duration – Thursday early morning till afternoon

Distance – Around 50 km from Chennai to Kovalam and back

Transportation – Own cycles

Expense – around 300Rs (food, water expenses)

Advance – to be paid when joining – 300Rs (difference will be settled later on)

AGENDA

  • Assemble Saturday 6:45 am TIDEL PARK (Bus stop OPPOSITE to TIDEL Park main entrance}
  • Join other Cycles along the route (see Starting points below)
  • Leave Chennai before peak traffic and ride along the ECR till Kovalam
  • Picnic near at the beach and have fun
  • Return by late afternoon

Contact Person

Radha – +91.9962199963

STARTING POINTS:

(everyone should come 15 minutes in advance – we do NOT wait for latecomers)

TIDEL Park, Taramani, OMR road – 6:45 am

MUST CARRY LUGGAGE:

  • All participants must carry following items
  • Back-pack to carry food, water, snacks
  • Torch in the cycle for night time cycling
  • One extra set of clothes
  • Sun cap and sunscreen
  • Some energy bars
  • Food will be taken care of by organizers

POINTS TO REMEMBER:

  • Please make doubly sure that your cycle is in good condition for the trip.
  • Please ensure that you have a good seat in the cycle.
  • A carrier to keep your back pack will be convenient.
  • Please carry a Trash Bag to carry your trash back.

PS – Need a motor biker to accompany us for the ride. Volunteers pls register as motor bikers.

Online Competition for Animators!


This project aims to give exposure to artists and animators all over the globe.
 
Each day, animation teams face-off against each other with their most entertaining 15-90 second clips.  Our online voting community gets 24 hours to select the winner, and the results are announced Live at our League Studio.  Winners earn Cash Prizes!
 
There are no steroid scandals or predetermined outcomes here.  This competition is all about Talent!  
 
Got Animation?  Broadcast Your Creativity! Join the ADA Championship!
 
For Details: www.adasport.com

Highly Spoken Languages in the world


Highly Spoken Languages in the world

Today I had an argument with my friends telling English is not the largest spoken language in the world. My argument was based on assumption that China was the populous country in the world and I assumed Chinese to the largest spoken language. 

After coming home I Googled and startled to know these facts. 

  • Thought English to be second highly spoken language. But to my surprise English was 3rd highly spoken after Spanish.
  • Six Indian languages were placed in top 20 highly spoken languages list.
  • Tamil has 19th position.

So here is the list of languages and their rating.

Ranking

 
Languages

 
Estimates

 
1 Mandarin Chinese 845,000,000
2 Spanish 329,000,000
3 English 328,000,000
4 Hindi 242,000,000
5 Arabic 221,000,000
6 Bengali 181,000,000
7 Portuguese 178,000,000
8 Russian 144,000,000
9 Japanese 122,000,000
10 German 90,300,000
11 Javanese 84,600,000
12 Wu 77,200,000
13 Punjabi 78,300,000
14 French 67,800,000
15 Telugu 69,800,000
16 Vietnamese 68,600,000
17 Marathi 68,100,000
18 Korean 66,300,000
19 Tamil 65,700,000
20 Italian 61,700,000

Ente Keralam Experience


Last week I went to Ente Keralam restaurant at Poes Garden for Dinner along with my CFO Mr.Bala Murugan. We have passed that way a many times and we always think we have to visit that restaurant once. But every time when we were hungry this restaurant doesn’t strike us and we visit normal Saravana Bhavan or some other restaurants. 

Last week after a hectic day I & Bala thought we needed to get out for dinner to relax. Surprisingly Bala remembered about Ente Keralam & we immediately drove from office to the restaurant. 

Immediately entering the restaurant I was carried away by the ambience. It gave a feeling as if we have entered into Kerala. After getting settled we were so hungry that we ordered immediately. Bala said Kerala is known for Stew and we ordered for Appam, 1 Veg Stew & 1 Chicken Stew. 

I was so hungry that I was unable to wait till the food comes. By that time they kept two varieties of Kerala Chips as Complimentary for Starters. This helped me to half fill my stomach. 

Then arrived Appam & Veg Stew and it was so delicious. Bala was also happy with Chicken Stew. Then I ordered Fruit Punch as dessert & Bala ordered Payasam and both were a treat to our taste buds. 

Finally we got bill which was also nominal. So this place has got thumbs up from us and we will frequent this place to try other recipes too in future. 

Upon going through the menu we came to know this restaurant is a part of Oriental Cuisines which runs China Town, Zara Tapas, Hot Breads, Benjarong in Chennai. 

If you want to visit this place here is the address;

Ente Keralam, Poes Garden

# 1, Kasturi Estate,
Kasturi Ranga Road,
1st Street, Poes Garden,
Chennai – 600018
Tel: (044)42328585

Is Terrorism – A Muslim Monopoly?


A few days back I got linked with a gentleman named Abrar Ahmed. It was a pure business meeting and we were talking hard core business. But I don’t know how we broke the jinx. I didn’t something which was not supposed or recommended to be done during a Business meeting. 

Yes it is believed not to speak Religion or Politics during business talks. But some how I pulled Abrar by raising queries about Islam. Abrar asked me to collect a DVD to get answers for most of the queries I raised him.

After two days I collected the DVD from him and then after a week I happened to watch the DVD only today. Yes the title of the DVD is “Is Terrorism – A Muslim Monopoly?” Speech was given by Dr.Zakir Naik who is the President of Islamic Research Foundation & also a qualified doctor.

Chief Guest honor was given to Justice Hosbet Suresh who spoke about the Human rights & the result of stringent laws which mislead the society.

Then it was followed by speech by Dr.Zakir Naik and I must say his speech has opened the lights of darkness on me and my perception about Terrorism. I was startled by the way he was showcasing historical data on Terrorism from 1879 onwards by giving the number of causalities, group behind the act, individual who did it etc.

As a centrist this speech has enlightened me, made me raise many questions, contradict some points and made me to do deep research about many topics. I’ve to study a lot of things on religion (Hinduism, Christianity & Islam) & history to understand the speech. Also I know I must watch the DVD more in coming days to kindly my world of anxiety.

One point which I agree to without any contradiction is;

Terrorism is born out of injustice.

We must stop pin-pointing people for misdeeds and march ahead looking ahead for a greener future.

I’ve one point to clarify to Dr.Zakir Naik & one clarification I need from him which I’m going to mail him after posting this blog. So let me post the clarification first.

One point he said LTTE a dreaded terrorist organization (Which I agree thought I’m a tamilian) that it is a Hindu organization. To clarify him more than 30% Sri Lankan Tamils are Christians. Former number two in command of Prabakaran was Anton Balasingham who was a Christian. Prabakaran in spite of being a Hindu has named his son after his friends name Charles. So, I can strongly say that LTTE is a Lingual group rather than a Hindu group.

Then the clarification I need from him is about the cast system which Islam doesn’t believe. In spite of being a true Muslim why he still carries a family / caste name (NAIK) which is opposed to Islam???

For now I must thank Abrar for passing the DVD to me and in coming years I might come with my point of view after researching on the facts given by the speaker.

But I’d recommend everyone to listen to “Is Terrorism – A Muslim Monopoly”? as it will help us to clarify our perception of Muslim Extremism, Fundamentalism & Terrorism. If any of you need the DVD kindly post a comment with your contact details so that I can drop it to you if you are from Chennai or I can courier it to you.

SaleSamachar.Com – Best place to strike better deals


Last month we thought or purchasing our own furniture’s and Air-Conditioners for CCS as we are paying heavily on rentals. We thought Diwali would be the right time to do this because of better discounts we might get.

We were looking for some site like deals2buy to compare different discounts offers available with different vendors / retailers. While Googling I came across SaleSamachar.Com. It looks like a brand new site with lots of information on discounts available for this Diwali.

I think it must be Chennai based because all information is pertained to Chennai. I’m happy that India has got such a site after a long time. I’ve got lot of ideas for the site and I’ve shot an email to the webmaster with all my thoughts.

If they respond I might meet them and would be glad to contribute my thoughts to make SaleSamachar.Com a success.