Slithering Sam, Nosy Naga and a Russel's Viper

Its funny isn't it? You plan to write a blog post on some topic and you keep building it in your mind and all of a sudden, you end up writing something else. Thats precisely what happened to me today. I had actually planned something else but who could forego the opportunity to write something this interesting (and a bit sad too)...

If you're wondering what this title means, its about 3 snakes'4 visits to our house in 3 months. Yes, I'm a man of adventure but this is no adventure. Its 'snakeventure'

The first one was a 6 foot, 2 inch thick black cobra, which my brother named Sam. To read about it click here.

The second one was a Russel's Viper. In case if you didn't know, a Russel's Viper is one of the most deadliest snakes in the world and is more poisonous than a cobra. It was a Sunday night and i had gone to the bus stand to pick up my cousin who was returning from a trip. I dropped him at my grandparents' place and returned home. It was 11 pm. I parked my vehicle and was about to enter my house when i noticed something just below the doorstep. It did not require a second look to identify it as a snake. Lucky Heaven! I could've stepped on it. Now i stood there in shock and confirmed that it indeed was a snake. I was just a feet away from it. I carefully climbed the 3 doorsteps and went inside. My mom was asleep and my bro was watching Kill Bill (whatta movie for the situation!). The moment i told him of the snake, he stood upright on the sofa. My mom woke up and we went out with a torch. Now we were able to see it clearly. It was a Russel's Viper man! But not so long. One and a half feet and half an inch thick. As we were flashing the torch, it began to move slowly. My mom began to panic as if it went to the backyard of our house, it'd be very difficult to coax it out then. I contemplated the idea of killing it but couldn't muster up the courage to do it. It slowly slithered into the motor compartment. we knew then that it'd be impossible to get it now as it was almost 11:30 pm and we were the only ones awake. So we tightly shut our door and went to sleep. The next morning, we searched the place fully but we couldn't find it. It had apparently left the place to who knows where. It couldn't be spotted inside our entire campus and that eased our nerves a bit. That was my adventure with the Russel's Viper.

Now to the more interesting part. It was around 7:30 pm yesterday. I was busy browsing and checking mails and my mom was sitting in the hall, reading. Now there is a sit-out beyond our hall and a Netlon door separates it. Our cat Buddy Boy rests in the chairs in the Sit-Out.The sit-out leads to the doorsteps and there is cemented flooring beyond, which leads to our gate. For a split second, both my mom and i noticed Buddy Boy rushing out of his seat and we heard a huge HISS. My brother, who was busily studying till then, went out and noticed Buddy Boy staring at something near the betel plant. I went out and even from the small bit of scales that was visible, we were able to figure out that it was a snake. We flashed our torch and then he(or she) showed his face. It was a cobra. Oh my God! This was long - about 4 and a half feet and about an inch thick. For a moment, we thought it was Sam. But no; Sam was longer and thicker. Now our main concern was the same as that with the Viper, that it should not go to our backyard. Buddy Boy was seen trying to get near it. He is a brave cat and i've seen him brutally kill a 2 feet snake two years ago. But this was no mere snake. It was a cobra. Too hot even for him to handle. So we took him in to safeguard him. He didn't mind for thats where he yearned to be, always.

Meanwhile Naga (yes, thats what i've named him) had other plans. He had two ways to go. One towards our backyard; the other towards our gate. He turned in the direction of our gate and proceeded a few yards forward. We quickly seized the opportunity. My brother quickly climbed on to the compound wall nearby and i mustered up all my courage and went towards the gate slowly, without being sighted by Naga, and opened it. Now our duty was to coax him out of the gate. I suggested that my mom bring some water mixed with asafoetida, as snakes hate that smell. She brought out the water and my bro, standing on the compound wall, poured the water over it. It immediately evoked a response as it began to slither away towards the gate. Since the gate was open, it smoothly slithered out. I wasted no time in closing the gate shut. There is a huge bush opposite our house (which is the source and a safe haven for these snakes)and Naga disappeared into the bushes.

Right from early morning today, we were wondering how it had got in in the first place, as there were no gaps through which it can come in and the gap that existed earlier had also been fixed. Imagine you kept thinking of a person and the person suddenly showed up. Thats what happened to me today. It was about 1:30 pm today and i was standing near the sit-out and was wondering how the heck Naga came in. I did not wait long to know the answer for at that very moment he came in through the tiniest of gaps, that i never knew existed. Yes, there have been coincidences in my life, but none as surprising as this. I was dumbstruck. I was alone in my house and before i could think of anything, he quickly made it to the betel plant by taking the exact same path through which he left yesterday. Looks like he had left a trail behind. Now i was confused. I had to act quickly, else he would go to the backyard and that would mean double trouble. I went in and took a mug full of water mixed with asafoetida. But before i could use it on him, he quickly went inside the motor compartment. I was both horrified and relieved. Horrified coz it'd be really difficult to drive him out now; relieved coz he'd stay there for the time being and wouldn't loiter around. Now i had to decide what had to be done.

The Coimbatore Fire Service Department had a special team trained to capture snakes and i had read about their exploits in the newspaper. When Sam came, i called them. But they couldn't come then as they had no transport and were willing to come if we picked them up. Thinking that they would be better equipped this time around, i called them. What useless call it turned out to be! The reason that they gave today was appalling and it angered me. My house is just 2 kms away from the Corporation city limits and these fellows only attend to calls if it's within the city limits it seems. Isn't it appalling? Does that mean that we are supposed to take the snake into city limits and then call them? Bah! I once considered them to be heroes. Not any more.

Running out of options, i called my mom. She suggested that i take the help of some people nearby and try to drive it out. But even if we were to drive it out, its going to come again for it had developed a fondness for that place. Our neighbours, who had come out by then suggested that it is better to kill it as they were very disturbed by previous day's events and were very afraid to go out. I called my grandparents' house as there was some construction work going on and there were many construction workers nearby. Soon my grandpa came, accompanied by two workers. Catching snakes alive requires tremendous skills and these workers certainly did not have that. They said they could kill it but could not capture it alive. Also driving it out would be of no use as it would come again. I like snakes and i hate killing them. I had seen enough documentaries on Snakes in Discovery and NGC. So i felt it was my duty to protect them. But on this occasion, i had to agree that there was no other option but to kill it as the motor compartment was not the best place to capture or drive out snakes; there was nobody who could capture it alive and Naga, having developed a taste for the place, would surely visit the place again. With a heavy heart, i agreed.

One of the workers opened the motor compartment with a stick, and through a small gap, he managed to kill it by striking it repeatedly. Once killed, Naga was taken out, buried (cremation proved futile) and his last rites were performed by pouring a glass of milk over his cemetry. Thus ended the life of Naga.

I prayed to the Almighty for forgiveness. Though i wasn't directly involved, it pained me to see him die the way he did. It was something that was unavoidable, especially after the Fire Service failed us. I hope and pray that Naga rests in peace. Even my mom felt remorseful but nothing could be done. I am pretty sad right now but couldn't help it. If there is someone who is to be blamed for the whole thing, then it has to be the Fire Service Dept. Hope they act more sensibly next time around so that these snakes and humans can be saved (yes, there is an equal probability of human deaths occurring too).

Ok friends, see you all soon. I'll come up with a cheerful post (that i had originally intended to post) very soon. Till then, its bye from me. Bbye...

No One Can BEAT IT

Its funny that your first blog post after quite a long lull happens to be an Obituary. But its much more than a mere obituary. I've poured a part of my soul into this post. This post is my tribute to a guy who used to answer to the name of a certain Michael Joseph Jackson. I know its late but better late than never.

My first exposure to this guy was when i was some 7-8 years old. I used to listen to the audio casettes that my uncle stacked upon in a shelf. These were cassettes bought by him during his college days. I simply used to switch casette after casette just to kill boredom or you can say that the audio in them did not captivate me then. It was during one such casette session that i chanced upon a new casette titled "Philips Car Stereo". It didn't take me long to be enthralled by the music it played. I was addicted to that casette and the music in it. I used to exclaim to everyone that "Philips Car Stereo" was my favourite song. It was only much later that i came to know that the song in the casette is actually titled "Bad" and the singer was a certain Michael Jackson. This realization was much later, about a year or two ago when i heard the actual "Bad" track by MJ.

But my first experience of MJ's music, realizing the singer as MJ, was around the same time, when my uncle showed me a video and asked me to see the brilliant dance steps in it. That video was titled "Thriller". I was mesmerized by the man with long hairs dancing like that. My uncle told me that his name was MJ and he was the best in English Music and Dance. It was around the same time that the movie "Kadhalan" was released and Prabu Deva aping MJ's movements in "Muqabala" song brought MJ closer to me. Later MJ faded away from my memory. Though I kept reading and hearing about him in the news now and then, I cared less. My interests varied and dancing was not a part my routine as it used to be when i was a 7 -8 year old. But still whenever i thought about dance, it was only MJ's images that came to my mind.

It was only after that we bought a computer, only after we got a broad band connection, only after we switched to the Unlimited Download scheme and only after my brother started downloading MJ's videos, that my interest in him revived. It was only then that i saw a lot of his videos like Smooth Criminal, Heal the World, the entire Thriller, Bad and so on. It was only then that i realized his genius completely. I was in awe of his moonwalk collections. "Beat It" became my signature tone, ring tone and so on. Almost all my quizzes featured a question on him or his albums.

I was saddened when unconfirmed reports suggested that he was suffering from a terminal illness and was counting his days, last year. I was overjoyed when he announced his comeback to perform 50 concerts in London. I sincerely wished that he would do well and once again prove to the world that he is the unparalleled King of Pop.

It was early morning on the 26th of June. I was lying in my bed, when by brother woke me up and told me that MJ was dead. I was shell shocked. I immediately went in front of the TV and spent almost the entire day in front of it. I kept playing and replaying "Beat It" in my cell phone in addition to seeing it being played countless times in the TV. I dont usually care much when a celebrity dies, but even without my knowledge, I spent an entire day sulking over the death of this person. What did he mean to me? Perhaps he meant something to me. Else i wouldn't have sulked for an entire day. The fact that he died on the verge of his comeback was even more saddening. But later reports suggested that he was virtually a living skeleton and carried numerous illness in his body. If that was true, then he had left the world for good, rather than live and suffer.

There have been numerous controversies that have engulfed his personal life and numerous accusations that were never proven. I choose not to believe those accusations. Even if it were true and he was indeed a paedophile,i dont care for i love him for what he has done in his professional life and that alone stays. There are numerous instances of geniuses all around us who were flawed in their personal lives. Albert Einstein, Kamal Hassan, Shane Warne to name a few. Yet we also have people who excelled both in their personal and professional lives namely Sachin Tendulkar, Rajinikanth, A R Rahman, Viswanathan Anand,etc. People remember them all only for what they have done professionally. And for me, as a professional, MJ was simply the best. My uncle called him the best in English music and dance. I dont know if he is the best in the former for i haven't heard much of English music to comment on it, but when it comes to dance, there is MJ and then there are the others. There is simply none like him. His numerous records speak of his genius and to me NO ONE CAN BEAT IT.

Auto – Roll Punching Machine using Four Bar Mechanism

Hello all (for a change)... Well I’ve successfully maintained my record of not keeping my New Year resolution that I’ll be writing atleast one blog per month. I knew it’d be difficult as my laziness would come in the way but to be honest, I was extremely busy for the past two months that it would’ve been impossible for me to write a blog. But now I’m free.

If you’ve been wondering what kept me so busy or what that weird title of this blog means, then it’d be time to tell you that it’s the title of my Mini Project and that’s what has kept me busy.

Yes you guessed it right. This blog is dedicated to my Mini Project. Don’t feel bored for I’ll see to it that I make my story as brief and as interesting as possible considering there are people from various streams who may trip on this blog.

Being Third Year Mechanical Engineering students and in a college that falls under Anna University Chennai, we have this paper called Design and Fabrication Project (essentially a Mini Project) that would fetch us 100 marks. No other Department has a project in the Third year. There too we had something to show off, we thought. But as time progressed, we realized that it was not going to be a path full of roses and the other Departments have been lucky not to have a project.

Once the sem started, we were instructed that we have to form batches of four (as we wished) and do a project that would involve parameters like drawings, design and fabrication complete with a report. I was clueless as to what I am going to do. Rajesh Kumar, a former class topper and a good friend, asked me if we could team up and I readily agreed. Lakshmi Narasiman was a natural choice for my team and so was Arun Nair. So we were through with the first stage – forming teams.

Next we were supposed to decide on the title of the project. This was the toughest part. Since none of us had any pre-formed ideas in our minds, we were skeptical as to what were going to do. Our staffs suggested that we should look in the net but most of the projects that we came across online were too far-fetched for a mini project. One or two videos that we saw in YouTube attracted our attention and we liked a particular mechanism called Four Bar Mechanism which was used in an Inventor Pump. Since we had also learnt about this mechanism, we decided that we must have it in our project. Now the problem was to give an application to this mechanism. I initially thought of using it for a piston pump but later dropped that idea. After some discussions, we decided to use it for punching. But a mere punching machine sounded too ordinary to us and we decided that we must add something innovative to make our project more appealing. But time was running out. We had only 3 days to finalize the title of our project.

It was a Sunday and I was wondering how the heck ideas are born. I simply could not think of anything. I was fiddling with my film roll camera and EUREKA!! I got an idea just at that moment. In those cameras, after a picture was shot, the roll automatically moves to the next slot. I thought of using the same principle in our project too. If we were going to punch something, then it would certainly be sheet metal which is available mostly in the form of rolls. So why not do the project in such a way that the entire roll is loaded into our machine and once the punching is done, the sheet automatically rolls to the next slot to be punched. All my teammates liked this idea and thus the title Auto – Roll Punching Machine using Four Bar Mechanism was born.

Now we needed to find a Guide for our project and we were all unanimous in our decision to seek Jayanth sir as our Guide, for he was the one who had taught us Four Bar Mechanism.

We needed to find a suitable mechanism to be introduced into our machine for the auto roll operation. This wasn’t an easy task. Each one came up with their own suggestions but every idea had a flaw or two. Finally a look at our seniors’ projects gave us the idea of using Geneva Mechanism as it would be the most effective one.

The next task was Design, arguably the toughest part. Since I had the images playing out in my mind, it wasn’t all that difficult but it still required 6 hours of work in Solid Works software. Once this initial design was done, Arun Nair, the Design expert that he is, took upon the task of improving it and developing it further.

Next we needed to fabricate the entire project. For this too, Arun Nair came in handy as his dad knew many machining shops at SIDCO. It was mainly due to the invaluable help rendered by Mr. Madhavan Nair, Arun’s dad, and Mr. Ravi, our Lathe operator, that we were able to fabricate this project. Once the work at the lathe shop was complete, we brought it to our college, where the rest of the work was done. Lakshmi Narasiman, most definitely the best student Automobile expert that I had ever known, chipped in with his welding skills and the project neared its completion.

I took upon the job of preparing an extensive project report as I was fairly good at it and Rajesh too chipped in with his Design calculations. In between, we also had a review with our HOD, but we were able to clear it without any glitch as we were confident of what we were doing.

The finishing stage posed a big problem as our machine was still not punching the sheet but it was only making a dent. This tensed us all as our project would be termed as a failure if the punch did not happen. Finally with some re-welding and restructuring done, our machine PUNCHED a hole in the sheet. It was our City Moment of Success. At last three months of hard work (one and a half months of real hard work) had borne fruit. We were overjoyed and the only work left was to prepare PowerPoint and present our project before the External. We were fairly well prepared and the Presentation went well. No matter how hard the External tried to knock us of our feet, we were able to deal with him and answer his questions. Finally he got us on a simple Load calculation that we missed and this gave him some satisfaction. But we were good enough to calculate the load at that very instant and give him the result. He was finally convinced and liked our project. He gave us an A++ grade.

Finally a feeling of contentment and that of having achieved something crept in. After all it was our own innovative idea that has taken shape. Barring one or two other batches, no other batch worked on their own ideas for their respective projects and this gave us an additional satisfaction. It was then that we felt that we were at an advantage compared to other departments for we knew exactly what has to be done for our Final year Projects and have the experience of Mini Project to back it up.

Also I’d like to mention some of the other projects which I liked: Arjun’s “Walking Machine using Theo Jansen Mechanism”, Arun Menon’s “Hydraulic Suspension” and Sarrvesh’s “Stirling Engine” (it was impressive even if it didn’t work).

That’s it for this blog. Please do check out the Video of this project. I’m sure this blog and the video would be of some help atleast to the students approaching their Mini Projects and Final Year Projects.

Your comments on this blog and our project are welcome. Also try recommending this blog to any student seeking help on the topic of their Projects or Mini Projects.

This blog is dedicated to my batchmates/ teammates – Arun Nair, Rajesh and Lakshmi Narasiman.

Hoping to write another blog soon.

Until then, its bye from me…

Serials: A trip down the memory lane

Hi… I am back at last. WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY and A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR. The simple reason why I haven’t blogged for so long is because of my laziness. Also I couldn’t find a suitable topic to blog on. I’ve contemplated a lot of topics in the past few weeks but each of those topics had a flaw or the other or did not warrant my opinion in the face of our country’s media with its larger than life presence. So those topics vanished off my mind literally. My mind touched upon the topic for this blog a couple of days ago and I’m acting on it hastily so as to not lose this one too.

Coming to this blog, I’ve decided to take you all on a trip down memory lane .. Of the days gone by... I thought of listing out the great movies that I had seen recently, but that would be a waste of both your time and my time as you would have heard or seen most of them. So I am taking you into the world of small screen, read Television. Today when I sit and think it seems really funny as to how many serials/soaps I had seen or come across in the past. That seems to be an age gone by for today even if I had time, I wouldn’t dare watch them as the times have changed and so have my interests and I am more mature now.

I’ll narrate the experience of my tryst with the TV by listing out the serials that I’ve come across. I am not including any cartoons or news related/quiz programs as they are part of my routine even today. Also I’d like to state that I have not watched any English soaps (like FRIENDS) at all and so you wouldn’t find them here. I’ve only been exposed to Tamil channels in the past and so most of these serials are either Tamil or bilingual. Also don’t laugh at me by reading this list as I’ve said before that these were from a time when I wasn’t mature enough and my interests differed. Also think back and be frank to admit that even you would have seen or come across these serials at some point of time.

Here we go...

Street Dog: When I started watching television, there was only one channel on air- our good old Doordarshan. Now Street Dog is a serial on a super fast bike by the title name. I remember being fascinated by speed and used to stay awake till 11pm on Saturday nights with my parents to watch it. This series was followed by Knight Rider, a super fast car.

Jungle Book: Sunday mornings were spent waiting for Jungle Book on DD. I remember jumping around with Mowgli and dancing to the tunes of its title song “Jungle Jungle…”

Vikram aur Vetal: The on-screen avatar of the old Indian classical story on DD. Though it was available only in the Hindi (which I could not understand then), I had either my mom or dad translating it for me.

Shanti: This serial on a feud between two business partners was hugely popular then, largely due to the title character played by Mandira Bedi in her first ever TV appearance. She disappeared from the scene for over 10 years till her remarkable comeback with Extra Innings in Sony Max.

Yug: If Shanti was the most popular show in the morning, then it was Yug and Swaabimaan in the afternoon. Yug was a serial on the Freedom Struggle and I watched it with keen interest and learnt a lot from it. Even now I remember its title song which goes thus “Yuga maariyadhae maariyadhae Bharatam...”

Mahabharatam: Cable TV came to India in the early 1990s and Sun TV was the first Tamil channel to make a mark. It began telecasting the translated version of the great Indian epic which was originally aired on DD. I remember being fascinated by the Mythological characters coming to life on screen.

Alif Laila: Based on the Arab folk tale ‘Arabian Nights’, this serial featured many stories with interesting plots. I used to watch it regularly on every Wednesday nights.

Amar Chitra Katha: Anant Pai’s stories and Ram Waeerkar’s illustrations were brought to life on screen in this program aired on Sunday afternoons.

Malgudi Days: No person who had read this RK Narayan’s classic would ever forget the characters in the book. Now when these stories were brought to life on screen by the brilliant work of Shankar Nag, it is hard to miss them -beautiful stories depicting the typical South Indian’s life in the 1960’s and 70’s. One story per episode and I cannot forget them even today.

Shaktimaan: The first Indian super hero who gained acceptance throughout India. When Mukesh Khanna started this serial, he would never have imagined the amount of popularity he was going to achieve. This program was a rage like I had never witnessed before, especially among the kids. DD was the channel on most of the homes with kids at 12 PM on Saturdays and Sundays. The Shaktimaan dress also became a rage with the kids.

Jai Hanuman: Another popular serial based on Indian Mythology. I watched it keenly on Saturday nights in DD.

Sri Krishna: Ramanand Sagar’s mega project captivated everyone. Used to be aired on Sunday mornings. I watched it keenly.

Kaiyalavu Manasu & Jannal: I realized the fact that K.Balachander is a great director only after watching his serials on TV. Only later did I watch some of his movies which are real masterpieces. These serials marked his foray into TV and to put it in a nutshell, he revolutionized the world of TV serials just the way he did with Tamil Cinema. If KM proved to be a path-breaker with wonderful short stories, then Jannal brought Lakshmi and SPB’s acting skills to the fore. These serials have left an indelible mark in the minds of viewers like me.

Ramani vs Ramani: One of the best comedies that I have watched. Brilliant acting by Ramji and Devadarshini. Great situational comedy. Even now I laugh when I think about some of the episodes in the serial.

Marma Desam: This serial was based on novels by Indira Soundarrajan. It had four parts and an unfinished fifth part.

1) Ragasiyam: A riveting mystery about killings in a Kaala Bairavar temple, a truck on a killing spree, maragatha lingam and so on.

2) Vidathu Karuppu: Undoubtedly the most watched mystery program in the History of Tamil television. Every week was spent contemplating on who could be the Karuppu. I can never forget the excitement this serial brought into the minds of viewers like me.

3) Sorna Regai: Another mystery involving an astrologer, an escaped convict and an honest Police officer. Though not as interesting as its predecessor, it was still enjoyable.

4) Iyandhira Paravai: My personal favourite in this series. A superb story woven around the mystery surrounding the deaths of eminent personalities involving a boomerang and it gave a deep insight into the ancient art of Varma Kalai. I had spent considerable time trying to procure or buy a boomerang after watching this serial.

5) Edhuvum Nadakkum: Though it was left unfinished, it was still an absorbing serial about a mysterious village often visited by peculiar men known as Vaanathu Manidhargal, who were later revealed to be the Siddhas. An animated depiction of Kalpaka Vruksha dancing made the serial popular initially but lack of support from the Producers forced the broadcasters to end it prematurely.

Maayavi Maarichan & Maaya Machindra: Serials based on super heroes which were hugely popular with kids then. These serials were even discussed in Schools during breaks.

Jee Boom Baa: This was a fantasy on a Magic pencil. Anything drawn with the pencil would come to life. Sounds cool, isn’t it? It was hugely popular with the kids. I wished that I had one such pencil.

Comedy programs on television were given a new definition by the works of some good creators like S Ve Shekar and Crazy Mohan. Some of their best works remain etched in the memory of viewers even today.

Ganga Yamuna Saraswati: Now don’t ask me if I watched it for the last I heard was that this serial was left unfinished after some 1000 episodes or so. No, I didn’t watch it but people in my family and household did. The only thing that I liked about this serial was the title song sung by Hariharan.

Chitti: This serial marked Radhika’s foray into television and what a success it was. On weekdays, 9:30 PM meant only one thing. Everything came to a standstill. The men would return home early from their work; the women would finish all their shopping and work before 9:30 and all phone calls were barred and anyone trying to attract their attention to some work or the other would be ignored. Take a stroll down the road after 9:30 and you would have found about 9 out of 10 houses running Sun TV. Such was the rage for this serial that it was a hot topic for discussion at offices, work places and even at schools. I remember that when I was in 8^th standard, we enacted a skit based on this serial during our excursion to Ooty. Velumani, one of the characters in the serial portrayed by VasuVikram became very popular. Now thinking back, I don’t think that this serial was all that good but at its peak it managed to achieve a regional TRP of 37. Now consider this with the All India rating of 12.5 achieved by T-20 world cup finals. That tells you the story.

Alaigal: Another hugely popular Tamil serial that made Venu Aravind a house hold name. I liked it not because it was good but it ended with 250 episodes, a rarity. Also it was the last Tamil serial that I watched.

Metti Oli: Another serial that almost matched the success of Chitti. I watched little of this serial and one thing it was famous for was that in every episode, one character or the other wept as though it was a part of their daily routine.

Kolangal: Now before you raise your eyebrows, let me tell you that I don’t watch it. I watched some 50 -100 episodes initially and later I stopped watching serials realizing how dumb they are. The reason I’ve mentioned this serial here is to praise the director for having retained viewership even after some 1500 episodes. Yes there are people in many households who have watched it from the beginning and are still watching it.

Irandaam Chaanakiyan: I reserved this for the end for if I were to pick the best of this lot, I’d certainly pick this one. The impact this serial had on me can never be put into words. Venu Aravind as the leading Veda protagonist in the story became my virtual God. I began to spend ample time trying to learn about the Vedas. I even attended a Veda class on weekends and took them seriously. For a while, I even considered joining some Veda Paatshala but later I dropped that idea when I learnt that most of Atharvana Veda, which forms the central theme of this story, was lost during the British rule. I’ll write a separate blog on the Vedas sometime in the future.

Well that’s it for this blog. Hope I’ve bored you enough. I may have missed some or you may have something else that’s worth a mention. You are free to add to this list or comment on it. Like I had said in the beginning, I’ve taken you all on a trip down the memory lane. If you’ve enjoyed it then it was my pleasure to have entertained you. Else... well you could have quit in the beginning itself. I am not to be blamed.

Ok then... One of my New Year resolutions is to try and write atleast one blog per month (well, I don’t take my resolutions seriously). Bye and once again I wish you all A Very Happy New Year…